Rise of a New Era
by AkiLynn
Summary: Three years after the fall of Cyclonia and the disappearance of the Storm Hawks, things have change in Atmos. With rogue squadrons and imposters causing trouble, the Sky Knights have their hands full. But when the Storm Hawks return along with Cyclonis and the Dark Ace, the chaos in the Atmos is heightened. Will the chaos end and bring peace, or is there something behind it all?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic actually being put up on the internet, so feel free to tell if it's good or bad. I originally put this up on deviantart, but recently decided to put up here as well. I'll put up the other already finished chapters soon. Oh, and of course, I don't own the Storm Hawks. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Winds of Change

A dark, cold wind screamed through the canyon as the violent storm raged on. Despite the dangerous conditions, there was a man standing up on the terra's cliff. This was a strange man to say the least, and not just because he standing out in a storm that had enough force to knock down a large carrier from the sky. His skin was deathly white, like fresh bone, and eyes as black as night. Though he had startling short, cropped hair as white as his skin, he looked exceptionally young: tall, dignified, with an air of danger. He stared out into the sky with a dark grin on his face: the winds of change were brewing and he intended to ride them back into the Atmos.

At that thought, he became overwhelmed with memories. Every journey, every mission, every fight, everything; the memories of his master was prominent among them. Soon he would have his revenge on the pathetic kingdoms of Atmos, and their precious Sky Knights. Not that it really mattered anyway; he could have taken the Atmos at any time he wanted. But how much fun would that be? It had been extremely entertaining watching the little battles of Atmos all these years, especially the recent war with Cyclonia.

In that long, drugged out war, there were many interesting people that popped up: some lived, some died, but that wasn't the point. The point was that it was clear that the current age of Atmos was about to change. Soon, a new era of Atmos was going to begin: one that he could not be for certain of what it would be. Whatever it would become, it didn't matter to him. With the chaos and clashes that were going to unfold, it was the perfect time to strike. He only hoped that he would get a challenge out of it. After all, what fun was it if it was going to be easy?

Now, it has been little over three years since the second generation of the Storm Hawks squadron had gone after the young Master Cyclonis to the Far Side. With Cyclonis gone and her army defeated, Atmos returned to a sense of peace for a short while. Sure, there were some loyal soldiers that tried to rise up the fallen empire, but never succeeded. Though they no longer had a large empire to worry about anymore, there was a new threat that was harder to deal with.

Perhaps it was a twisted sense of inspiration of the new Storm Hawks status of technically being unofficial, but soon after their departure, several "squadrons" appeared from nowhere. They had no official status so they did not have to follow the rules of the Sky Knight Council to a degree; which many took advantage of and began to cause trouble all over the Atmos. These "rogue squadrons", as they are now called, are little more than petty gangs that steal, fight, and destroy anything in their paths. True, there are some that try to protect people or do good, but those ones often only provided their services for a price, an expensive one at that.

What was so tricky about them wasn't their fighting abilities, as many of them were not that skilled, but the fact that there were so many of them. If one Sky Knight squadron got rid of one of them, three more seemed to take their place. It was ridiculous and annoying to the Sky Knights. The rogues were like insects; no matter how many times you crush them, more keep coming.

If that wasn't a pain already, there was one more problem. Though most were not the greatest of fighters, there were some that were on the same level as a Sky Knight. It was these squadrons caused the most trouble, for everyone. There weren't many of them, only five known ones, but that didn't make them any less dangerous. These ones were the ones that caused large scale destruction and mayhem. Also, many of the weaker squadrons were under their protection and any harm done to them was cause for retaliation from the elite rogues. This made eradicating them all the more difficult.

This is why so many people were relieved when the Storm Hawks finally made it back from the Far Side. The moment everyone realized that they were back, many of the rogues backed off, much to the joy of the Atmos. There was something different about them, though. When they came back, the battle of the Far Side had obviously been difficult. The Storm Hawks had lost both their carrier and its pilot to the fight, but as they assured everyone, managed to rid the Atmos of Cyclonis forever. Though their looks hadn't changed much, their personalities sure did. Their cockiness seemed to be elevated to a new level and basked in their fame and glory. This is why many of their friends didn't believe them. The Storm Hawks they knew never cared for attention, well, except for Finn. But there was nothing they could really do about it; after all, their presence did cut down the rogue activity in half, mostly likely due to fear of the squadron that took down Cyclonia.

Okay, enough of the history lesson, time to get to the action. Recap, it's now little over three years since the end of the series, and the Storm Hawks have been back for about a year and a half, basking in glory and fame, blah blah blah and so on. However, unknown to everyone in the Atmos, a certain psychologically disturbed teenage girl with a severely creepy voice has also returned to the Atmos for about a year now. Along with her, is a certain man with phenomenal anger issues. Yes, Master Cyclonis did not perish in the Far Side as the Storm Hawks claimed, but survived and made it back to the Atmos, recreating her empire with the help of the Dark Ace. The Dark Ace, though, seemingly destroyed by the hand of his master, survived as well and had been found in the Far Side, to be reunited with her. After an awkward apology and failure in the Far Side by the hands of the Storm Hawks, the two managed to return to the remains of Cyclonia and started its rebuilding. Due to the destruction from the previous war, the reconstruction of Cyclonia has taken quite some time. But now it has been rebuilt with a new army, ready to lash out at the Atmos with its new power. All that was left were simple matters, that weren't needed just yet.

The rebuilt Cyclonia was full of people running to and fro in preparation of the upcoming attacks on the Atmos. Thanks to spies and still loyal members, Cyclonis had gather all the information she needed to carry out her plans. Now in her late teens, the ruler was in the throne room with her new crystal engine, upgraded with the designs of the Far Side. She was preparing new crystals for her Talons which had already proven successful in small invasions of unimportant terras near Cyclonia. She was in the middle of her forging when the door slid open. The Dark Ace entered the room and strode over to her.  
"The preparations are going as plan, Master. The attacks will be carried out at your command," he said to her in his usual drawl.  
"Good," replied Cyclonis, "Soon the Atmos will regret forgetting about their most dangerous threat."  
The Dark Ace smiled, he had been looking forward to this for some time.

Just then, the door opened up again, and a lieutenant walked briskly into the room, shaking. The two turned to face him, as he was stammering to get his message out.  
"What is it?" Cyclonis asked harshly.  
The lieutenant snapped to attention and spoke (or should I say nearly screamed), "Master! The invasion force on Terra Kin has been completely wiped out!" He was shaking so bad in fright that he nearly fell over.  
"And how did that happen?" the Dark Ace asked, looking intently at the lieutenant.  
The lieutenant gulped. He wasn't sure of whom he was frightened more of, but still spoke, "A strange man in a black hat managed to defeat the entire squadron by only maneuvering around them with an air board. He didn't attack even once!"  
Surprised at the news, the master and commander looked at one another. This would complicate things if it wasn't handled quickly. The Dark Ace turned to the lieutenant, "Did you see what he looked like?"  
"No, sir, I did not, no one did. He moved around us too fast to get a good look at him. But I could probably recognize him if I saw him, there was something really weird about him."  
"I see, is he still there?"  
"No, he is not, but one of our spies heard that he was on his way to Terra Atmosia."  
Master Cyclonis smiled, "Well, then, it looks like our errand to Terra Atmosia will be interesting." She thought for a moment, "Actually, there is going to be an awards ceremony for the Storm Hawks there in a couple of days." She turned to the Dark Ace, "How would you like to supervise the mission, Dark Ace? I would prefer that Atmos doesn't know about our return, but if you run into them or our little troublemaker, feel free to do as you please, I don't want either of them screwing up our plans."  
The Dark Ace bowed to his master, "It will be done, Master." He stood up with an evil grin on his face. This just might be fun after all.

**Sorry for the history lesson, but there has to be a background for it to make sense. Also, this is after the Far Side saga, which I am quite frankly just too lazy to write first so…yeah…, but I will allude to certain things in the story that I have thought of for a Far Side story so I might, eventually, write it, but for now I'll stick with this story. **


	2. Chapter 2

**So this is chapter two. Sorry for the slow start, but it takes a while to get to the heart of the story. But it will begin to pick up quickly. Also, I should warn you, it is going to be a rather long story, because it will follow the lines of like an actual season but in story format. Enjoy and comment. **

**Again, I don't own the Storm Hawks**

Chapter 2: Homecoming

Terra Atomsia was bustling with life. People had come all over to witness the great award ceremony for their guardian squadron, the Storm Hawks. After two years of chasing Master Cyclonis through the Far Side, the young squadron had finally managed to put a stop to her forever. Then after their return, their mere presence stopped half of the rogue squadrons in their tracks, and dealt with the others in battle. They did this even after the terrible loss of their carrier and pilot, and had managed to patrol the Atmos in a small carrier by themselves. Not to mention the fact that they had also orchestrated the fall of the Cyclonian Empire little over three years ago. To everyone, it was high time that the squadron be recognized as the heroes they were. Well, almost everyone.

While the main square in front of the Sky Knight Council was being set up, people were walking by the stage, chattering excitedly about the upcoming ceremony; all but one. A girl in her late teens walked stiffly by the ceremony set-up, eyeing it with complete disgust. It was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. The Storm Hawks couldn't care less about being recognized as heroes, maybe at first because they were denied official status, but they had quickly gotten over it. All of their friends knew it wasn't them, but there wasn't anything they really could do about it. There was one more thing why the young woman didn't like the "Storm Hawks", she was a Storm Hawks.

Piper walked right by the very people her and the rest of the Storm Hawks had saved countless times, yet they did not recognize the young heroine, though she definitely had changed over the three years. Piper had grown taller by a few inches and filled out a bit. It actuality, she had become quite beautiful; and even Finn stated that she now looked like a girl (earning him a punch to the arm: a very hard one). Her midnight blue hair, once spiked up, now was straight down with her standard orange headband and little makeup lined her eyes. She now sported and washed out grey/blue jacket with orange lining and orange shirt, with black pants and boots. She wore black combat gloves and a black belt that held her crystals and new retractable crystal staff.

Piper was almost passed the square when she saw them: the "Storm Hawks". They waved and greeted the masses as they strutted by, the smuggest smiles on their faces. In all fairness, the group did look remarkably like the Storm Hawks from three years ago. In was funny how most people didn't take into account that they most likely were to change after all that time, especially since they were so young. If Piper had to honest, it was little more than creepy to see the group: it was like looking into some kind of reverse-age mirror. The only one missing from the group was Stork, but that wasn't very surprising: how many Merbs were there that were as crazy and paranoid as Stork? However, they managed to find a creature that looked relatively close to Radaar.

As they came closer to her, "Aerrow" and "Finn" stopped and blocked off her path. Both of them were eyeing Piper and smiled, "Hey, how's it going?" "Aerrow" asked.  
"I'm fine, thanks. But I need to get going." The she tried to walk forward, but had her path blocked again.  
"Oh, come on now. I'm sure you're not in that big of a hurry," said "Finn", with a very creepy face that made Piper's skin crawl.  
Piper gave them a look that said quite plainly, "go away", and said, "Actually, yes, I am in a hurry. So if you don't mind, I'm going."  
She began again to start walking, but "Aerrow" grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She ripped from his grip, but only to be grabbed by "Finn". She was losing her temper and was about to give them a shift kick when someone shoved "Finn" back a couple feet and pushed Piper away from the duo. Before she could register what happened, she heard a voice say, "Is there a problem, miss?" She looked up and was surprised. Smiling down at her in his cocky smile was none other than the real Finn.

The two "Storm Hawks" recovered after the initial shock of someone actually shoving them and realized the two knew each other. "Finn" scowled, "So, you her boyfriend?"  
Finn walked up to his imposter and looked at him straight in the eye, "Nah, just a friend." The two were sizing each other up. "Finn" thought he could take this loser, especially with "Aerrow" to back him up, but he thought better of it. They were already making a small scene and they couldn't afford to let it get out of hand. So instead, he'd let the punk off the hook for now. When no one was around he'd deal with them later. He smirked, and left with "Aerrow" to rejoin the group.

As soon as the group was out of sight, Finn turned to Piper and said, grinning, "Good thing I showed up, huh? If I hadn't been here, our whole 'laying low' plan would be out the window. You should really be more careful, Piper." Piper gave him a look, and he laughed.  
"Very funny, Finn, and you shouldn't be talking. You and your twin were about to have a go at it."  
"Nah, that wasn't going to happened. He didn't want to screw up their 'look'. Besides, I would have kicked his ass anyway."  
Piper sighed; though they hadn't given away their identity, they already were a source of interest. That wasn't what they wanted. Even since they had gotten to Atmosia, they were struggling to keep quiet. They didn't want to attract unwanted trouble as they were waiting for Aerrow; something that was near impossible for them.

They were waiting for Aerrow for a reason. After they managed to put a stop to Cyclonis and the revived Dark Ace, they chased the duo back towards the Atmos. However, as they gave chase, their ship had gotten attacked by a swarm of viperbats, very large, poisonous bat-snake-like monsters of the Far Side. Aerrow had gone out to deal with them by himself, having the rest of the team, including Radaar, chasing the duo. Not long after he left the hangar bay, a storm literally came out of nowhere and nearly ripped the ship apart. After who knows how long of being flung through the sky like a leaf, the team found themselves on an unknown terra in the middle of nowhere, with the ship completely totaled, all of their resources stripped by the storm, and no Aerrow. After months of slow repairs and no communication with anyone, they started to fear the worst. It wasn't until a few weeks ago they had gotten a new hope.

It was only a month after they finally got their radio working again, and were trying to get in touch with anyone that could help them, and on the off chance of hope, Aerrow. It was a day they could never forget. Stork was busy fixing and tuning the ship as usual, Piper and Finn trying to map out where in the Atmos they were and Junko was playing with the radio for a signal, but was only getting static. It was a normal day and they were all quiet when they heard a voice come from the static.

"_H-HH-Hel-Hello-o? An-any o-ne there?"_

Everyone's heart stopped. They all looked at the radio in astonishment, especially Junko who was sitting in front of it. Even Radaar stood still as a statue.

Junko scrambled with the radio while everyone else rushed over to it. Piper grabbed the microphone and nearly shouted, "Hello?"

"_I-is th-th-this - Sto-rm H-Hawks?" _

"Yes, this is us. Who is this?"

"_I-I have a me-ss-age for you f-from A-Aer-ow." _

The teams' hearts nearly stopped, hopes raised.

"Is he okay?"

"_Y-es, he is-is do-ing ju-just fi-ne."_

The team nearly shouted for joy hearing that their Sky Knight was alive and well.

"Where is he?"

"_He is-is he-re wi-with me. Stt-ill wh-e-re you call- the -Far Side. He-will-back soon. S-says - meet – him- T-terra At-at-atmosia - few-weeks."_And then the messaged cut out.

However, the team had all jumped in excitement at the fact that their Sky Knight was coming back. With the enthusiasm of seeing him, the team managed to finalize the repairs and managed to navigate their way back to Terra Atmosia. After learning about all that has happened during their absence, they decided to lay low until Aerrow came, as to not cause chaos: something novel for them.

They have been on the terra for about a week now and there was still no sign of Aerrow. Then again, Aerrow could have easily changed like the rest of them. Finn had gotten much taller, taller than Piper and Stork, and now lightly slicked his hair down with the tips sticking out and even had some light stubble. Still cocky, the sharpshooter had improved dramatically in his fighting and flying ability, and was confident enough to walk into dangerous situations without his crossbow. Junko had gotten larger and hair thicker, but he face still was a little child-like. His improvement was also incredible, to the point that he'd be considered one of the strongest Wallops as well one of the smartest. Radaar even seemed to have grown a few inches and was even craftier with the mechanics Stork was the only one that hadn't seemed to change. Moody and pessimistic as ever, the green Merb always made it a point to tell them that it was highly likely that Aerrow may perish upon his return to Atmos. With this in mind, it was understandable that they might not even recognize one another if they saw each other.

Finn and Piper continued down the street, still arguing about the scene back in front of the Sky Knight Council. They were so busy arguing that they didn't notice five strangers walk pass them in full armor. The leader of the group had led them to a small bar off the main road and walked in with an air of misplaced importance. As they entered, the room fell silent upon seeing the insignia of their armor. It was a black phoenix: the symbol of the Firebirds. This was one of the rogue squadrons mentioned before and though not one of the Elites, they were still a very dangerous team.

They had walked up to a table that was full and with a quick gesture, took the now empty seats. As they settled into the bar and had the server bring them some drinks, the leader burst out laughing as he split all over himself.  
"Did you see their faces? It was priceless! They looked like scared little children!"  
"Yeah, way to go, Boss! Those idiots won't be so cocky now, huh?" roared his teammate on his right.  
"They ran away like little girls, how pathetic!" cried another one. All of them again burst into drunken laughter, causing the nerves of the other customers to be on edge. They all wanted to leave, but they knew the moment they got up to leave, the Firebirds would use them for target practice due to disrespect. There was another round of laughter and the loud voice of the leader shouting, "And those pathetic Storm Hawks! They think just because they came back from the stupid Far Side that they're all the shit. Like we are all supposed to bow down to their great glory. Bah! I think we should give them a little gift for them tomorrow during the awards ceremony. To show our deep appreciation for them!"

There was a great roar of laughter and the door had open again. A strange man walked in and sat at bar, conversing with the bartender. He was shirtless, every muscle defined by obvious hard work and training. He had a black hat (like an akubra) and black shorts and boots. Around his waist was a black belt with a hoister on each side, both carrying what looked like a short energy blade. On his lower back were light scars that look eerily like claw marks.

The leader of the Firebirds took notice of the man, and his energy blades. The guy had to have guts walking in here like that without acknowledging them, or he was just stupid. The leader got up and walked over to the bar, leaning against it as he studied the man. He was young, probably in his late teens or early twenties. He was casually swinging his bottle as he talked with the bartender, either unable to notice the leader or was ignoring him.  
"Excuse me, sir" the leader said roughly, "I don't believe I've seen you around here before."  
The man turned to look at the leader, his face slightly obscured from the shadow under his hat. "Well, it's been some time since I've been here. I don't believe I've seen you before either." The man had said this in a casual, friendly way, but to the leader, it sounded like an insult.  
"Well, for your information, I'm Gunner of the Firebirds. One of the most feared pilots in the Atmos," Gunner said, with an air of smug pride.  
The man simply nodded, made a thoughtful face, and said, "Never heard of you, then again, I've been out of the loop of the affairs in Atmos for some time, so don't take offense at it. It is nice to meet you, Gunner." He then turned and began talking to the bartender again.

However, Gunner had taken offense at the stranger's comment. He pushed the man to face him and spat in his face, "Who the hell do you think you are?! 'I've been out of the loop of affairs'! How dare you not know of us, the mighty Firebirds! We are the second undersquadron of the Predators; you better watch yourself."  
"I'll take that into consideration." Immediately, everyone wished he hadn't said that. The veins in Gunner's head seemed to pop out in fury. The other customers were scared; you didn't want to tick off a rouge leader. They tended to destroy everything in their paths when you did.

Gunners punched the man on the side of the face, and then proceed to continue pounding him until he was satisfied. Once he was finished, he took the man and threw him out of the bar, spitting at him. "That's what happens when you mess with a rogue, fool! Consider this as a free lesson, because I'll spare your life." Gunner and his crew turned back into the bar, laughing hysterically.

The man lied on his back for some time, not moving at all. Some thought he might be too hurt to stand up, but refrained from helping him in fear of receiving the same punishment. After a few minutes, the man said, thoughtfully, "Well, that was rude. If he didn't like me, he could have just asked me to leave." With that he stood up and brushed off the dirt on his body, much to the astonishment to the people around them. He bowed his head toward them as he fixed his hat, "Sorry for the trouble I caused." He then strode down the street as if this thing happened every day, with confused and awed glances following him.

On the other side of the terra, a group of sky rides landed under the trees. The riders all had a package and a letter each. They turned to look at their leader, the Dark Ace. He was already walking towards the city, keeping his hood up as he went. As they got to the edge of the city, he issued the orders of their mission, and one by one, the disguised soldiers disappeared into the crowds.

The lieutenant began to walk towards the crowd when the Dark Ace held him back. "You're staying with me. We're going to make sure the Storm Hawks don't mess with anything." The lieutenant nodded his head, but asked why he was the one held back. An evil grin appeared on the Dark Ace's face, "Because you're going to point out to me the little troublemaker, if he's here." Again, the lieutenant nodded, but felt a deep fear. Again, he didn't know who to fear more, the Dark Ace or the mysterious man. The Dark Ace looked out into the crowds as the final soldiers disappeared. Somewhere, in the mess of people, was Aerrow; he couldn't wait to see him again.

Just as the Dark Ace looked into the crowd, there was another looking back at him without his knowledge. He was surveying the dark warrior with great interest. Once the Dark Ace and the lieutenant disappeared into the crowd as well, he looked in the mass of people trying to find one other person. Funny enough, he too was looking for Aerrow.

**Hope you enjoyed it. In reality, it is rather interesting that no one realizes people's appearances can change drastically over time, especially when they're young to begin with. Again sorry for the slow start, but I promise it will get interesting really soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three! I know this looks like I'm writing chapters ridiculously fast, but the others up to chapter seven were already written, just not posted in here. There are up in diviantart, and I plan to use both sites. **

**Again, don't own the Storm Hawks**

Chapter 3: Long Time No See

Finn and Piper were walking through the small woods, still arguing about the scene with the "Storm Hawks". Finn was still making fun of her and she was still trying to win the argument. It was funny, really; over the last year, Finn had been winning more and more of their fights. It was driving Piper crazy.

After a long walk, they managed to come to the edge of the terra. Piper took out a small radio from her belt, and said, "Stork, we're coming down now." After a few moments, a platform rose from under the clouds, the Storm Hawk insignia painted on it. They walked onto it and soon were lowered under the cloud line, the Condor coming into view underneath them.

The Condor look as it had three years ago, but now had a strange air around it. The legendary ship was much than just the carrier; it was a veteran battleship of the Far Side and had a number of upgrades with it.

The platform came through the roof and into the center of the bridge: the pair were still arguing. They didn't stop until Junko interrupted, "So, did you guys find him?" At that, the pair looked slightly disappointed. They have been trying to find Aerrow, but they still couldn't find him. "Well, it IS highly likely he got eaten by viperbats on his way back, run into Cyclonians, Murk Raiders, or one of the Elites, or he could have been infected with some type of Far Side disease, which by the way, I think I might have contracted a rash from there…" Stork rambled on, no one actually paying attention. Radaar whimpered slightly. Piper kneeled down to him and petted him, which he allowed despite his dislike of being treated as a pet.

"Don't worry, Radaar. He'll be back with us soon."

"So what were you guys arguing about this time," Junko asked, changing the subject. Finn burst out laughing while Piper gave him a death glare.

"We ran into the "Storm Hawks", she said, putting quotation marks around Storm Hawks.

"Really?" Junko said, interested, "What are they like?"

"Cocky, stuck-up, losers who think that they are royalty or something," Finn remarked with a disgusted tone.

"Well, Finn, your twin actually could pass for you," Piper commented.

Finn was offended, "I was never that bad!"

"Oh really?" Piper laughed, "Remember the time you were in charge? Or Terra Vapos? You were completely out of hand."

"That guy is a complete jerk!"

"And you weren't?"

"I'm not saying I wasn't. I'm just saying it didn't take long until I realized that power had responsibility."

"So, they're bad people?" Junko asked, saddened at the fact that their copycats weren't acting as they should.

"Well in looks, they could pass for us three years ago, but their personalities are like Finn said. 'Cocky, stuck-up losers'", Piper explained.

"Yeah, and they have that stupid award ceremony for them tomorrow. They're strutted around the terra as if they own Atmos," Finn finished.

There was a silent agreement. None of them were going to the terra tomorrow during the awards ceremony. They couldn't handle watching their imposters in their "crowning achievement".

The next day the ceremony started at noon. The square was filled with people from all over the Atmos, wanting to witness the ceremony. The square was so filled up that all the streets to the square were clogged with people, and many of the roofs were also places people waited to watch.

Around the crowd, guarding, were the Red Eagles. They were asked to patrol the ceremony as so nothing bad happened to the Storm Hawks or the crowd, as the Storm Hawks still had many enemies. Avior, the new Sky Knight of the Red Eagles, watched the ceremony unfold with a disappointed expression. Though he never knew the Storm Hawks personally, he knew enough about them from others to know that the group before him wasn't the real one. He had heard how the group of kids was (for the most part) modest in their achievements and only strove to protect the Atmos, something that many veteran squadrons didn't understand anymore. The group before him was the complete opposite: They were playing the crowd and embracing the cheers and praises from them. It was disrespectful to the real team. He sighed as he watched them. This is going to be a long ceremony, he thought.

With the help of the massive crowds, the Firebirds had snuck into the ceremony without the notice of the Red Eagles (though they hadn't done the greatest job in the first place as they didn't care what happened to the "Storm Hawks"). Gunner was still fuming a bit from the encounter with the strange man at the bar. When he walked back out of the bar to mock the man some more, he saw that he was gone, and the bystanders had said he had simply gotten up and walked away as if nothing happened. He couldn't believe that the guy had been able to stand up after the beating gave him, let alone walk. Also, if he was that strong, he didn't think enough of Gunner to retaliate. Gunner was furious of being taken lightly, and he was planning to take it out on the Storm Hawks.

They snaked their way through the crowd, getting closer and closer to the so-called 'greatest squadron of Atmos'. Gunner's hand rested on his crystal blaster; he had a very good shot and an even better one when he was drunk.

He saw that Aerrow was now giving a speech, something about the many victories that he had over the Dark Ace. Gunner wasn't listening; he was beginning to take out his blaster. This was the guy that was said to be the best pilot in the Atmos, the best fighter, and the great leader of the Sky Knights: if he took him out, there'd be nothing in his way. He began lifting up the blaster when he heard a hard, dark laugh to his left.

"These people honestly think that these fools are the Storm Hawks!"

Gunner turned around and saw a man in a dark cloak, laughing his head off. A man beside him was looking surprised and scared of his companion as he laughed.

"What do you mean, sir?" asked the trembling man.

"These fools aren't the Storm Hawks, lieutenant. These are imposters, trying to gain fame and glory by using the Storm Hawks absence."

"How do you know, sir?"

"As if the Storm Hawks strutted like that! It may be overrated, but the Storm Hawks had honor. They would never strut like this; no they were too noble and humble. It's a shame, really. I had hoped to run into Aerrow again."

The two turned, and soon disappeared into the crowd.

Gunner, shocked at what the man said, was thinking fast. He didn't know if the man was saying the truth, but the way he said the name Aerrow had an obvious tone of familiarity. That man knew Aerrow, and had said that the Aerrow on stage wasn't him.

"Boss, come on, let's get him now," called one of his teammates.

"No, these aren't the real ones," Gunner said, firmly believing in it now. He snaked his way back out of the crowd, his team struggling to follow. Once he was out of the crowd, he looked around wildly. He spotted the two from the crowd and began to follow them. If these two knew where the real Storm Hawks were, he wanted to know where they were.

The Dark Ace was still laughing from the ceremony. It was truly incredible how dim-witted people could be. Anyone with the slightest idea of who the Storm Hawks were would have noticed that those were fakes, but the fact that they didn't made it all the more entertaining. He could just imagine the look on Aerrow's face once he knew that all of his team's hard work was now being dragged in the mud by a few wannabes. He had to admit though; the group did look a lot like the Storm Hawks from three years ago. He had seen changes himself in the Far Side, so made that's why it was so easy for him to see that they were fakes.

As his commander laugh, the lieutenant was uneasy. If those weren't the Storm Hawks, then where were they? He voiced his question to the Dark Ace, who only pushed it aside, "Don't worry, lieutenant. They show up soon enough, they always do. They had a knack for that."

The lieutenant wasn't sure if he liked that idea. He knew that the Storm Hawks were responsible for the destruction of Cyclonia and the failure in the Far Side. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with a squadron that could pull that off, especially one that was so young and had a long time to keep improving.

As he worried with himself, something caught his eye. They were in a fairly crowded square with people chattering all around them. In the middle of the square, walking slightly away from them was a man in a black hat, no shirt, and black shorts. The lieutenant stood rigid at the spot: it was the same man that took out their invasion squadrons solely by flying around them with an air board.

He stopped dead in his tracks, and the Dark Ace asked him harshly why he stopped. The lieutenant shakily raised his arm and pointed at the man, "Th-that's him. Th-that's the one. The one who's been taking out our invasion forces."

The Dark Ace's gaze followed to where the lieutenant was pointing and saw the man. His face curled into an evil grin, Perhaps this trip would be fun after all. The Dark Ace took off his cloak and drew his sword (Gunner was watching from a few feet back, extremely confused and uneasy at the familiar look of the armed man). In one smooth stroke, the Dark Ace took a shot at the man's head.

The blast shot through the crowd, and thanks to a last second reflex, the blast only knocked the strange man's hat off, singeing part of the top. The crowds dispersed in the middle, giving a clear lane between the man and where the Dark Ace and the lieutenant were standing. The man walked over to his hat, bent down and picked it up, "What the heck was that for?! What are you trying to do? Take my head off—" The man stopped as he realized who had just shot at him.

The Dark Ace, too, looked back at the man in shock. He recognized the man's face, his red mop of hair, and the green eyes that always had that daredevil gleam. A cruel smile crept on his face as he howled out in laughter. "I should have known! You were that little troublemaker stopping our squadrons. How nice of you to finally show up… Aerrow." He looked deliberately at the man as he said the name, ignoring the confused gasps around them.

His signature mischievous smile appeared on Aerrow's face. He placed the hat back on his head, "You know, Dark Ace, if you hated my hat that much, you didn't have to try to kill it."

**Finally got to the interesting part! Of course, those two run into each and of course they are going to fight. Yeah, I know I haven't given an explanation for Ace's return, but again I'm lazy. I might come up with something that's relatively logically, but no promises, sorry. More awaits, so please give me some feedback. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Now for some action! This is pretty much a straight up action scene so bear with me. But the story is starting to get into swing, not full swing by any means but it is moving. Hope you enjoy!**

**Again, don't own the Storm Hawks**

Chapter 4: Warm-Up

The crowd was extremely confused and nervous. They had all backed away when the energy blast hit the strange man's hat off and were silently waiting for the clash to unfold. But they were perplexed. The man who had fired the shot had recognized the other as Aerrow. But how could that possibly be? As far as they knew, Aerrow and the rest of the Storm Hawks were at their award ceremony on the other side of the terra; the man couldn't be Aerrow. Then, what made them even more confused was that the Aerrow man called the one who shot at him the Dark Ace. The name still had a deep sense of dread with it, and many of the bystanders became very scared. The Dark Ace wasn't supposed to be alive; he died at the end of the Cyclonian War: just what in the world was going on!

As the crowd whispered to one another about the situation, the two men were smirking at one another, oblivious to the questions around them. The Dark Ace was surveying his old foe. It was startling how much the boy had changed. Man, he corrected himself; there was no way that the young fighter could be called such anymore. He had seen Aerrow change in the Far Side, but this was completely different. He had grown taller; he probably was the same height as himself, taller maybe even. He had always been in shape, but the toned defined muscles that could only result from hard training were a major change. Even his face showed signs of maturing. Though he had recognized Aerrow, there were subtle changes that if he hadn't seen them a little bit before in the Far Side, he probably wouldn't have recognized him. No wonder no one had recognized him.

Aerrow simply stared back at his rival with his mischievous smirk. He could tell that the Dark Ace had changed as well; the dangerous air around him was proof of that. He watched as the red eyes of his foes surveyed him. The evil grin appeared on his face again as he said, "So, Aerrow. What have you been doing all this time? Surely, you must have reason for why you haven't shown up till now."

"I've been in the Far Side, training with a chicken farmer," Aerrow said this with a completely straight face that not even the Dark Ace could tell if he was joking or not.

The Dark Ace posed himself, ready to launch an attack, "Well, let's see if that training was any helpful," he said, rushing at his opponent.

Aerrow smirked as he heard the Dark Ace's words. With a quick movement, he drew his energy blades and jumped over his opponent as he rushed at him. The Dark Ace had anticipated this, pivoted, and swung his sword at Aerrow's head. Aerrow ducked without a second too late. He aimed a kick at the Dark Ace's stomach, but had it blocked. The Dark Ace again took a swing at Aerrow, having it stopped by one of Aerrow's blades.

"Not bad, Aerrow," the Dark Ace complimented, "Not bad at all, but let's see how's your swordplay".

The two began exchanging blows, each unable to land one. Each strike was blocked by the other's blade, no matter how perfectly executed. They jumped, flipped, and twirled around each other trying to gain the advantage, but to no avail. There was just no way to get around the other: They were evenly matched. Once or twice one of them managed to land a random punch or kick that they hadn't even intended to give, but the slight advantage was gone just as fast as the other recovered.

"Well, you're definitely the real one," the Dark Ace grunted between blows.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Aerrow grunted back, dodging a punch.

"Haven't you notice? You and your team have a group of imposters, strutting around the terra as if they own the world. It's really quite demeaning if you ask me."

Aerrow was totally thrown off by the statement. The look on his face easily showed the amount of confusion of the fact and how ridiculous he thought it was. Was there really someone pretending to be them and using it for fame and glory? he thought, but that was just plain ridiculous! His thoughts had earned him a sharp kick to the side. Without wincing, he focused back on the fight; now was not the time to wonder about if there were imposters. He then launched a furious counterattack that continued the fight.

The crowds were watching in complete amazement. Unknown to the two fighting, who were so absorbed in their battle to notice, the fight was being done at a ridiculous rate. The speed at which the two were exchanging blows and blocks was incredible. None of the bystanders had ever seen anyone move that fast before. What was even crazier was that the two weren't stopping, it was easy for them. Neither of them looked tried, in fact; they looked like they were having fun. It was just down-right weird.

The bystander that was having the most difficult time watching the fight was Gunner. He had been shocked to hear the two men's names. His stomach lurched when heard the cloaked man name Aerrow. The man he called that to was the very man he had beaten up at the bar. He remembered how the man hadn't even tried to defend himself during the beating, it was weird, but he hadn't thought much about it. Now he understood, especially now watching him fight; Aerrow was too strong; the little beating he gave was nothing to Aerrow.

Then there was the Dark Ace. Gunner had thought that the man looked familiar, but this was not what he had in mind. When Aerrow had identified him, a deep sense of dread crept in him. He remembered the dark legendary pilot very well. He was the demon of the Atmos, the one person who has defeated more Sky Knights than any other. And according to his rules, if you lived, you won; if you lose, you die. Not even his superior Elite squadron had that type of reputation. He remembered hearing that he had perished in the war; it was such a relief to him, even though he was a simple criminal. Seeing him now was horrifying.

Realizing that the two men fighting now were legends, Gunner was in complete awe of their fighting skill. He had been in many fights, but never one as intense as this. It was like they were starving wolves fighting over a half-eaten carcass. Yet, they were so light on their feet and moved so gracefully, he couldn't help being mesmerized by it. It was nothing like he ever seen before, even from fights between Elites and Sky Knights. These two were in a whole other league; one he wasn't sure if anyone else was in.

Finally, the two separated from their close-quarters battle. The Dark Ace had managed to shove Aerrow a good few feet away from him. In that same instant, he made a smooth swing and shot at Aerrow. Aerrow, still recovering from the unexpected shove, only realized the blast coming at him until it was too late. By some off chance, Aerrow made the slightest of movements, missing the shot by millimeters. It passed him and crashed into the building behind him, completely destroying it. Since when did his crystal become that strong, Aerrow wondered as he saw the destruction from the corner of his eye.

The Dark Ace shot again at Aerrow. For the sake of keeping the terra in one piece, Aerrow instead caught the shot with his blades and deflected straight into the sky. It was difficult as the blast was powerful, more powerful than he anticipated. He took a step back as he tried to recover from the blast. His brief moment of hesitation was rewarded with another swing at his head. Aerrow ducked and rolled behind the Dark Ace. He made to strike, but was stopped by the Dark Ace's blade.

The two engaged again in close combat, in what seemed like a fury of red and blue sparks. None of their blows broke through, but they weren't discouraged. Actually, every time they couldn't get land a blow, they got even more excited; the fight was getting more fun.

Again they separated, this time by several feet. They had each jumped back for more room; neither was out of breath, though. After of few seconds both jumped into the air, preparing to strike with their special move. Both forced a powerful strike at the other, completely focused on their opponent. This is why neither of them noticed their blasts going right pass one another and hitting each other squarely in the chest.

They were both flown back a good few feet. They landed hard on the ground, each letting a small groan escape them. It wasn't long until both jumped back onto their feet, panting hard now. They didn't move, just started at one another as they tried to get a few seconds of rest.

They were about to attack again when the lieutenant, have been completely forgotten until this point, waved and shouted to the Dark Ace, "Sir! The others have completed the mission."

The Dark Ace looked at the lieutenant, to Aerrow, and back to the lieutenant. He let out a disappointed sighed, "Looks like our errand is finished. I guess that means our little sparring match has to end here for now." He deactivated his sword and began to walk away. He stopped and turned, smirking at Aerrow, "Don't worry, Aerrow, you'll be seeing me again soon. And next time, I won't be holding back." He then continued to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute. What were you doing here," asked Aerrow, starting to run at the Dark Ace.

Without warning, the Dark Ace swung out his sword and fired a blast right in front of Aerrow, causing a large amount of dust to obscure Aerrow's vision. He and the lieutenant then ran from the square, the Dark Ace again laughing.

**Like I said before, it's impossible for the Dark Ace and Aerrow NOT to fight. Seriously, let's be honest, they hate each other. In my mind, I can see the rivalry being kicked up a notch in the Far Side. However, seeing that Aerrow has grown up to be a man now, I think a civil, but still very intense rivalry should now be in place. They talk to one another civilly, but given the chance they'd kill each other without a single thought.**

**Hope you enjoyed and please comment!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five! This chapter is more so done for humor than anything else and you'll understand as you read. I'll probably put random humorous chapters to keep it light and entertaining so be prepared.**

**And again, Don't own the Storm Hawks**

Chapter 5: Hit or Miss

The ceremony was long and drawn out. Each of the Storm Hawks had a long, unnecessary speech about whatever the hell they accomplished and embraced the roaring cheers that came at the end of them. The crowds were sucking up every word they said, completely eating up the exaggerated lies that the group gave them. Avior leaned against the wall, bored out of his mind. He didn't know how much longer he could stand this; it was complete torture. He yawned as Finn, the second one to speak, had finally finished and Piper started. There was no end to this, he thought.

Not a moment after he thought this, a loud blast was heard, deafening everything around them. There were screams and shouts coming from all over the place, putting a stop to the ceremony. Avior, glad that something stopped the ridiculously long ceremony, immediately looked to where it came from. He saw smoke coming from the other side of the terra, mostly likely from the main square.

As the Storm Hawks tried to calm everyone down and start up the ceremony again, Avior and his team ran to their skimmers, and began driving towards the rising smoke. As much as he was glad to have something better to do than listen to the unending speeches, he was uneasy. Whatever the blast was, it was certainly powerful. Whoever could do that also had to be just as powerful. He just hope that nothing bad was about to happen.

Aerrow was coughing and trying his best to clear out the smoke in front of him. He wanted to chase after the Dark Ace right away; he needed to know why he was here in the first place.

Finally, the smoke cleared and Aerrow had stopped coughing. There was a large crater in front of him were the Dark Ace had shot at. He barely registered this as he looked wildly around to see were the Dark Ace had gone. He saw him and his lieutenant at the very end of the street, turning to the left. He began to start running when he received a hard hit to his stomach.

Looking down, Aerrow saw that it was a little old lady with a cane that had stopped him. She was squinting hard up at him, inspecting him for some reason. Aerrow really hated to be rude, but said roughly, "Excuse me, madam, but I have to go."

"Hush," she said, hitting him over the head with her cane. She then reached up and pulled Aerrow closer to her by grabbing his ear.

Wincing by the force she used, Aerrow pleaded, "Is this really necessary? What are you doing?"

"Hmm, you could be him or maybe not. I can't really tell for sure."

"Sure of what?" Aerrow asked, still wincing as she held his ear.

Letting go of his ear, the woman grabbed his chin, forcing his head side to side as to get a better look at him. She put her face so close to his that they were basically brushing up against one another.

Finally, she let go, raising her hands in frustration. "I can't tell if you're really him. I mean I can't tell if you are him, or the other one is him! I'd gotten an autograph from the other one for my grandson, but if he wasn't the real one, then my grandson would be so sad. And if I got one from you and you weren't him, again he'd be sad…" she continued to ramble on and on as others from the crowd started to come have a closer look at Aerrow, curious.

Aerrow, having been finally released, quickly snuck away from the crowd before more people could distract him. He had lost view of the Dark Ace and was frantically looking through the crowds trying to find him. Realizing that it was pointless, an idea popped into his head. He saw a small alley to his right and used the walls to jump to the roof of the buildings. After a few seconds of looking around, he spotted the now cloaked Dark Ace racing towards the woods three blocks away.

Aerrow ran after him, jumping across rooftops as he went. Since he didn't have to shove his way through the crowds, he began to gain on the Dark Ace. He was only a block away from him when he sensed, rather than saw, a bullet of energy coming directly at him. He pulled back just in time to have the bullet pass right in front of his face. He looked down to see who had shot at him, seeing Gunner with his blaster aimed right at him.

"What are you doing?!" Aerrow yelled in frustration. At this point, the Dark Ace could easily escape.

Gunner smiled, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm challenging you to a fight!"

Aerrow, irritated now, sighed, "I don't want to fight you, okay? I have other things to do."

Gunner laughed along with his teammates who were all drunk as he was. "You're pretty good, I'll admit. That fight was pretty impressive. I wonder though, are you the real Aerrow?"

"Okay, will someone please explain this real one thing to me? What in the name of Atmos are you people talking about?!" Aerrow exasperated, tired of hearing this with no explanation.

"Well, at this moment, there are two Aerrows of the Storm Hawks on this terra. One is at the awards ceremony with the rest of the Storm Hawks team and there is you, who just had an intense fight with the Dark Ace. I'm guessing that you're the real one, so that means you're my next target."

Aerrow, still completely confused by the situation, was thinking fast. He had to get rid of this guy quick before the Dark Ace got off the terra. Another idea popped into his head.

"Are you positive that I'm the real one? After all, we could have done that little fight just as a show."

"Don't give me that! I KNOW you are the real one."

"Really? Are you absolutely sure? I mean the other Aerrow has the entire team to back him up with proof. I just have me, myself, and I. How could I possibly be the real one?"

Gunner hesitated for a moment and looked down in thought. It was true, this one didn't have a team with him and from what he knew, and Aerrow was very close to his team. If he didn't have one, did that mean this one wasn't him? He looked back up to confirm his suspicions, "What the-" Aerrow wasn't there anymore, nor was he running down one of the roofs again. He had jumped down into the crowd and disappeared, chasing after the Dark Ace once again.

Gunner roared with anger as he realized what happen. He punched the wall beside him, putting a dent in it.

"He really outsmarted you, huh Boss?" joked one of his teammates. No sooner as he said that, the teammate had his boss' foot in his face, forcing him back down to the ground.

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled as he walked away. This guy, whoever he was, was getting on his last nerve.

Piper and Finn had walked back into town around two o'clock. They figured that the ceremony had finished by now and it was safe to walk around. They shocked, but not completely surprised that the ceremony was in fact still going on. Rolling their eyes at the scene, the two had headed down a different street, still searching for Aerrow.

It wasn't long after that they heard the blast. They had been only a few blocks from it, and the ground actually shook from whatever caused it. They looked quickly at one another, wondering what to do. It could be a Cyclonian attack or maybe one of the rogues. Either way, they had to do something. But that proved difficult as the streets were crowded and chaotic as people were both running towards and away from the blast.

As they continued to struggle, they were both nearly knocked over by a pair rushing away from the blast. They had heard a harsh, "Move it!" that sounded very familiar, but couldn't exactly place it. They had put it out of their minds and continued to struggle forward.

Again, someone rushing from the blast had ran into them. The man quickly rushed past them without helping them up, calling a quick "Sorry!" as he ran. They had only brief gotten a look at him, but saw enough to see it was a man with a black hat and no shirt. Still, confused, they kept going towards the blast, hoping to figure out the problem and maybe finding Aerrow.

**So made it to chapter 5, hope you enjoyed the random comedy. Sorry if you didn't find it funny, so yeah. But a little sad that Piper and Finn didn't recognize Aerrow, or vice versa.**

**Please comment and tell me if there is anything you're confused on or think needs to be changed. Thanks!****mmHm**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Played

There was complete chaos in the square were the fight had taken place. People had started shouting and screaming after the Dark Ace had nearly taken out half of the square. Amongst the frantic people, there was a man surveying the scene with great interest.

The fight was very interesting, in fact; it was one of the hardest fought battles he ever seen in Atmos in a long time. The really interesting thing was that battle was just a warm-up. Neither of them had gone at full strength; they were only prodding each other to see their improvements. Of course, none of the other bystanders would have notice the significance of it. Hell, it probably didn't register in their minds that Aerrow had taken a harder hit when the two hit each other with their special moves than the blast that destroyed half of the square. Not only that, he was willing to bet that Aerrow's shot was just as powerful.

He smiled to himself. He had heard that these two were strong and bitter rivals, but he didn't expect them to be this impressive. Perhaps his master will have some competition after all. He slunk into the shadows as more and more people showed up to help.

The Dark Ace was struggling to break through the crowds around him. As much as he wanted to continue the fight with Aerrow, he had other priorities. He ran into many people, who he just shoved out of the way without thinking. He must of knock down a number of people in his escape, none of any importance. Although, there was a young couple that looked very familiar to him, but he didn't have time to think about it.

The Dark Ace and the lieutenant were coming close to where the rendezvous point was. They were only a few blocks away when they looked back and saw Aerrow struggling to keep up with them. Damn it, how the hell did he catch up with us that fast, the Dark Ace thought. Aerrow couldn't learn of what exactly they were doing; he had to shake him off. He saw a narrow alley not far off in front of them. Using a wave of people walking between them, the Dark Ace ducked into the alley, pulling the lieutenant with him.

They waited for a few moments until Aerrow came into view. Realizing that this was where he had last seen the two, Aerrow looked around in all directions. After being unable to figure out exactly which way the two had gone, he had let out a soft, "Damn," but was close enough for the two to hear it. The Dark Ace smirked as he heard it. Language, Aerrow, he mockingly thought. Figuring that the two were heading towards the woods, Aerrow continued running forward.

After he left, the two stepped out of the alley. "He fell for it," the Dark Ace sneered, taking a left towards a different section of the woods, the lieutenant struggling to follow.

Avior had never seen such carnage before as he entered the square with his team. About half of the square looked like it was struck with a cannonball, and had the crater to prove it. There was also a large pile of rubble from the destroyed building on the other side of the square. All round were people running, still either away from the scene from fright or to it from curiosity. Off to the side of the scene was a large group comprised of what looked like avid listeners.

Avior strode over to the group, catching part of the conversation as he came closer.

"Really? Was it him? How can that be? He's supposed to be dead?"

"No, it was him alright. I bet my life on it."

"But the other one, he couldn't possibly be him. It had to be an act."

"Excuse me, but would one of you like to tell us what happened here," Avior said as he broke through the crowd. About four of the witnesses had been telling the crowds whatever had happened in the square. When they saw him, they immediately became quiet, obviously aware that he wanted to talk to them first. As people respectively moved out of his way, he saw an old lady with a cane still jabbering away to a group of people who looked like they wanted to desperately leave.

"I tell you, I still can't figure out if he was who that dark man said he was. I simply couldn't tell. Now, I don't know if the autograph I got my grandson was from the real Aerrow."

At this last statement, the people were so annoyed that they simply left. Avior, however, took notice of the odd statement. Real Aerrow? He motioned his team to interview the rest of the witnesses as he walked over to the old woman.

"Excuse me, madam. But what do you mean by 'real Aerrow'?" he asked, very curious.

The old woman looked up in surprised at the Sky Knight, braking out into a hysterical babble.

"Oh, Avior! Thank heavens you came! Look at this mess those two made, my goodness! They should really be more careful. Now you're here and neither one of them are here to explain themselves. Do you have any idea how much of a fright they gave us, with that fight of theirs…"

"Madam. Madam! MADAM!" She finally stopped and looked at the Sky Knight confused.

"Can you tell me what happened here, madam?"

"Well, I was on my way home from the store, buying a present for my niece's son. He's the cutest little boy you'd ever see. He has just the most adorable dimples, the biggest smile, and sparkling eyes. He's an angel. He's so good to his mother too. She spends so much time at work, yet he helps her wherever he can. She works so hard and…"

Avior listened impatiently when he heard two voices behind him.

"Look at this! This says the Dark Ace all over the place."

"Let's not jump to conclusions. It could easily be one of the new rogues running around here."

"Shame the Storm Hawks weren't here. I'd like to see them try to face whoever did this."

There was thick sarcasm in the voice, especially when he said Storm Hawks. Avior turned towards the voices. Looking around in a very clam manner was a young couple; a young man with blond hair and a young woman with midnight blue hair. Curious, Avior walked over to them.

"Do either of you know what happened here?"

Startled slightly, the young woman asked without thinking, "Who are you?"

Just as startled, Avior replied, "I'm Avior, the Red Eagles Sky Knight."

"Oh, of course… and no, we just got here."

Avior gave them a questioning look. "We heard the blast and came to look," the man said quickly.

"I see. Well, apparently, two men had a bit of a battle here. One apparently being Aerrow of the Storm Hawks."

The two perked up immediately and before she could stop herself, the woman asked eagerly, "Aerrow!? He was here?"

Avior looked sharply at her. The way she said the name made it so obviously clear that she knew him; the real Aerrow. These two knew what was really going on, even though they didn't know what happened in the square.

"So you know Aerrow, huh? The real one?"

"Uh… Well, I… I knew him three years ago."

"Can you tell me what is going on?" It wasn't a question, it was a command.

"What? What would we know about it?" she stammered frantically.

"Piper," called the man.

"We've only been here a maybe a week."

"Piper"

"Why would we know anything that you don't?"

"Piper"

"What, Finn!" snapped the girl.

"He knows," the man said calmly.

Avior looked at the two in shock. Those two names, Aerrow, the fight, and the mentioning of the Dark Ace. These two had to be the real ones.

"Are you the real Storm Hawks?" he asked in also a whisper.

They looked at one another and then nodded their heads.

"Piper and Finn of the Storm Hawks… It is an honor to finally meet you," Avior said, shaking their hands. "Why haven't you shown yourselves until now."

"That's a really long story," Finn said, but Avior stood expecting.

"Long story short, we haven't even really returned to the Atmos until a week ago. When we got here and saw what's been going on, we figured it would be best to stay low for a while."

Avior nodded thoughtfully, that's what he would have done, "And the Dark Ace?"

"Again, a really long story," Piper answered.

Avior was going to ask another question, when one of his teammates came up to Avior to report his finding.

"Avior, eyewitnesses state that there was a battle between two men, who identified each other as the Dark Ace and Aerrow. After an intense battle that lasted only about five minutes, a man who was with 'the Dark Ace' said something about their mission being finished and the two began walking away. 'Aerrow' began to give chase but 'Dark Ace' shot at the ground in front of him, causing the blast we heard, and they assume they ran down the south road. After the smoke cleared, 'Aerrow', after being delayed a brief moment by the old woman with the cane over there, gave chase down the same road."

Avior nodded as he listened to his teammates report. If they really were those two, that was an obvious conclusion. They needed to investigate more, even with the Storm Hawks. First, they needed to find the two fighters. "Did any of the witnesses give a description of the men?"

"Well, the Dark Ace was typical to his description; black hair, red eyes, and the general feeling of evil. But Aerrow was described as a young man with a black hat, black shorts and boots, and wasn't wearing a shirt."

The two Storm Hawks looked as if someone just slapped them in the face.

"What is it?" Avior asked, nervous.

"That man, he ran into us. That was Aerrow and we didn't recognize him!" They looked quickly at one another. "Then that other guy had to be the Dark Ace. How did we miss that!"

Avior looked at them quizzically. "I think you need to tell us what is going on exactly."

Aerrow ran into the woods, still trying to find the Dark Ace. He and his lieutenant had been running in this direction, so their rendezvous point had to be somewhere around here. He kept running through the woods, looking every which way he could, looking for a sign that would tell him where the Dark Ace went.

He stopped in a covered clearing, thinking. The Dark Ace had been going this way; the rendezvous point had to be here. He looked around again; there was nothing to show that the Cyclonians were here. Unless, this wasn't where the Dark Ace was really running towards.

It clicked. "You have got to be kidding me," Aerrow said to himself, putting his hands on top of his head. The Dark Ace had wanted him to think that the rendezvous point was here. He was willing to bet that when he lost sight of them and had stopped to look around, the Dark Ace was hiding probably feet away from him; waiting for him to fall for the simple play.

Aerrow looked back towards the town; there was no way he'd be able to stop the Dark Ace from escaping now. "Damn it," Aerrow hissed. How could I've been such an idiot! I fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book! I'm never going to hear the end of this; he'll never let me live it down.

Aerrow started back towards the town, furious with himself; more so at the fact that he just was played by the Dark Ace, than the fact that he escaped.

**Hinting at that there is something going on more than just the return of the Storm Hawks, but we won't get there just yet. For now, the hints will have to do. **

**Hope you enjoyed and please comment!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Promises

Avior leaned against his skimmer as he watched the crowds go on with their day. He was thinking about the conversation he had with the Storm Hawks yesterday. After explaining their story, Avior wasn't sure if he believed it. The whole concept of what they had to deal with in the Far Side was hard to grasp. Also, the story of how the Dark Ace returned was truly unbelievable. As hard it was to comprehend, he was astonished by the Storm Hawks' story of how they returned. No wonder they haven't shown up until now, he thought, they sure are committed to stopping Cyclonis, though. He shook his head, they really were something else.

He scanned the crowds again, trying to locate Aerrow. After the Storm Hawks' explanation, he and the rest of the team had split up to try to find the Sky Knight. From what he saw and heard from the remains of the scene yesterday, he really wanted to meet him. Aerrow was a true Sky Knight, if not a little unorthodox. He was committed to rid the Atmos of evil, and the biggest threat was still Cyclonis; he would stop at nothing to put an end to her tyranny. Not only that, from what he heard about his and the Dark Ace's fight, he probably was the best Sky Knight in the Atmos now, as well as still the youngest.

They had searched all day yesterday and still were looking, but with no such luck. For some reason, they simply could not find him. One would think it wouldn't take that long to find a guy in a black hat and not wearing a shirt, but apparently it was. It was impossible to find him in this mess of people. He shifted his weight to lean on his other leg. Several people greeted and waved to him as they passed which he politely nodded in reply.

Avior yawned as he heard it; A loud shot that rang through the town. It was different than the blast from yesterday. This one sounded much crisper, like a gunshot. He, like everyone else, looked up, searching for the source of the gunshot. Another shot rang, coming from a few blocks away. Avior had heard rumors that there were rogues on the terra; most rogue boss' used crystal blasters compared to traditional crystal weapons. As much as he wanted to help find Aerrow, his Sky Knight duties had to be tended to first. Sighing, he got on his skimmer, driving towards the gunfire. Maybe Aerrow would be there, seeing that he had a knack for attracting trouble.

Gunner prowled through the streets, furious. He had planned on having some fun on the terra; stealing some valuables, picking fights, and causing chaos in general. However, ever since he met that Aerrow guy in that bar, the trip had been everything but.

After the second encounter with Aerrow, Gunner had gone back to the ceremony, wanting to take out his frustration on the 'Storm Hawks'. When he got there, though, he found that the Storm Hawks had left, saying that they were going after those responsible for the destruction of the square: No one had seen them since.

So he is the real Aerrow, he thought, bitterly. That ploy he had pulled on him was just so he could get away. He was angry, angry at the fact that Aerrow had played him so easily. Now he was looking for him again, this time with a vengeance. He had a few scores to settle.

Gunner, walking into a bar, kicked a chair out of his way. He and his team had looked all over the terra for the red haired pain in the neck. But, just like the Red Eagles who he was unaware of doing the same thing, they couldn't find him. Honestly, it was like the guy had vanished into thin air. No matter where they looked, Aerrow was nowhere. His team tentatively followed him, scared that their boss would start taking his frustration out on them again.

Gunner dropped unto the stool at the bar, harshly ordering for a beer. The rest of the team sat in the corner of the room, keeping a safe distance. The bartender carefully gave the bottle to Gunner, retracting his hand as if he was touching a bomb. Gunner drained the bottle in a minute, slamming the bottle down, and ordering another one. The bartender again gave the bottle in the same manner as before. He drained the bottle just as fast, again ordering another one.

As he waited for the bartender to fetch him another beer, Gunner barely noticed that someone else sat down next to him, ordering a beer as well. Gunner was so wrapped up with his angry thoughts that he didn't bother to look at other customer. He stared furiously at the wall, wishing that he had another shot at the Storm Hawk. He'd make him pay for treating him as a fool. He drained the bottle again, and motioned for another one.

"You know, drinking that much that fast isn't good for you," said a very familiar voice beside him.

Without turning to look, Gunner spat, "Shut up!" draining yet another one. He sensed that the customer had shrugged, returning to his own drink.

After some time, the customer stood up, passed some coins for payment, and said, "Thanks, Brian." As the customer left, the wheels in Gunner's mind began to turn. That voice was familiar, too familiar. He turned around in his seat quick enough to see, in horror, a man in a black hat and shirtless, walking out of the bar. It was Aerrow, and he had just sat next to him without his noticing. "He's a dead man!" he shouted as he ran after him, ignoring his team who had cowered in the corner.

Aerrow walked out of the bar, sighing. He still couldn't find his friends. He had only been on the terra for three days, but he thought he'd seen them by now. That was the whole reason he was on the terra. The fight with the Dark Ace was solely by coincidence. He knew he'd fight with him soon, but he wasn't expecting that. Now that he thought about, he actually was completely surprised by the random attack of the Dark Ace. So much for coming back without causing chaos, he thought. Then again, staying quietly wasn't the easiest thing to do with the chaos going on now.

He shook his head. The stories of the rogue infestation bothered him greatly. He had led his team into the Far Side chasing after the Atmos' greatest threat, Cyclonis. He never thought that such a problem would pop up in their absence. He also felt a little guilty. From what he understood, these rogue squadrons had been somewhat inspired by their team's status of being unofficial. He didn't think such a simple matter could cause so many problems.

Another thing was bothering him, too. All of the comments of the real Storm Hawks and the real Aerrow didn't make any sense. The idea of someone pretending to be them was ridiculous. He never thought that people could fall for anything that stupid. But their own friends had fallen for the Raptors terrible disguises, he reminded himself, if they could easily fall for that stupid trick, they could easily fall for a much better trick and disguise.

Aerrow started to walk down the street when he heard an angry yell, "He's a dead man!"

Turning towards the noise, Aerrow saw Gunner bursting out of the bar in a wild fury. After looking madly around the area, Gunner spotted him, a drunken smile creeping onto his face. In a single movement, Gunner's blaster appeared in his hand, aimed at Aerrow. Before Aerrow could say anything, Gunner shot at him, a loud blast rang through the town.

Aerrow cocked his head to the side, barely avoiding the shot. An irritated frown appeared on his face, "Seriously, what is your problem with me?"

Gunner laughed, "My problem with you? You've been a thorn in my side for too long! That's my problem with you!"

Aerrow was baffled, "I only met you two days ago."

"That's long enough!"

Aerrow just stared at Gunner as if he was a madman, which at this point, Aerrow wouldn't rule out. It was clear that he was drunk. The look earned him another shot at his head which he easily dodged. After he had dodged his shot, Gunner came charging at Aerrow, a mad drunken gleam in his eyes.

Aerrow sighed as he watched coming at him. This was starting to get out of hand and he needed to stop it. Gunner swung his arm at Aerrow's head, his blaster still in hand. Aerrow ducked, hearing another shot. He grabbed Gunner's arm, forcing it up as he started shooting again. Gunner made for a wild punch, but stopped when a hard punch made contact to his stomach. Coughing, Gunner slid to the ground, holding his stomach. He looked up at Aerrow in dazed eyes. His clouded mind was muddling with the fact that he had just been brought to his knees with a single punch. Though he was drunk and not thinking clearly, he knew that this guy was far stronger than him.

As Gunner slunk to the ground, Aerrow started walking away again. "You won't get away with this!" Aerrow stopped, watching the desperate man scream at him. Gunner had a wild smile across his face. He cursed at him, "You don't know who my boss is, do you? Heh, he's the leader of the Predators, one of the Elite Rogue Squadrons. He always protects his own. He'll find you and he'll kill you."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Aerrow, flatly.

"You know, for someone who's trying to lay low until he reunites with his team, you're doing a terrible job, then again, for you that's probably impossible."

Aerrow turned around to see a man wearing the Red Eagles uniform and had an energy sword on his back. He was of average height with short brown hair and mustache. Despite his formal appearance, his face looked rugged, but casual. His grey eyes surveyed Aerrow with approval as he walked up to him. He held out his hand which Aerrow shook questioningly.

"I'm Avior, the new Sky Knight of the Red Eagles. It's an honor to finally meet you, Aerrow."

"So, they finally replaced Carver? Nice to meet you, Avior."

"It took a while to find someone strong enough and loyal to the Sky Knight Council. Actually, not long before the finally battle with Cyclonia, they were considering you and your team." Aerrow gave a questioning look.

"Shortly after, they knew that you would never settle for just protecting Terra Atmosia."

"Well, I won't deny that." The two laughed.

"So, what do you want to do with that guy?" asked Aerrow, pointing towards Gunner who was being helped to his feet by his team, unsuccessfully.

Avior waved it off, "My team will take care of them. There's a promise I need to keep. There's a lot of people who been waiting for your return. I think it's time to get you back to your team."

**I know it's a short chapter, but it's still necessary, I think. I'm trying to build up a type of feeling around the story, a more mature one than the actual series. So tell me if I'm doing a good job or failing horribly. **

**Also, this is the last of the already written chapters, so the chapters will be coming much more slowly than this, THAT I can promise you. **

**Disclaimer-I don't own the Storm Hawks**

**Hope you enjoyed it and please comment or review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Return

The Storm Hawks had searched high and low for their leader, but with no such luck. It was ridiculous, really; they had seen him many times before, but now that they knew who he was, they couldn't find him. It was almost as if he was hiding which, in the light of recent events, might not be too far from the truth. If would have been one of them and were trying to stay low again, that's probably what they would do. Then again, it was Aerrow, which meant anything could happen.

The team regrouped in a tavern in the city. It was a checkpoint every so many hours where they'd meet if they found Aerrow, or if not compare locations. However, none of them had found him and were waiting for Avior and the rest of the Red Eagles to come, mostly likely in the same situation. On cue, the members of the Red Eagles came in and by the looks on their faces, they had no better luck. They all sighed heavily. They wanted to desperately find Aerrow and continue with their job of protecting the Atmos, but they couldn't do that without him.

Before anyone could say anything, another member came running in looking excited, "You guys all want to see this!" Following him out of the tavern, they stopped and could hardly believe their eyes. Walking towards the tavern, talking casually with Avior, was their Sky Knight and friend, Aerrow. The pair stopped a few feet away and looked at the group before them. A wide smile spread across Aerrow's face, "Hey, guys. Long time no see."

After a split moment of hesitation, they all cried out in joy and rushed at Aerrow. Radaar got there first, running back up to his spot on Aerrow's shoulder. Aerrow barely had time to say, "Hey, buddy," before Piper hugged him fiercely, followed closely by Finn, and finally knocked down all together by Junko as he wept. Though slightly crushed under Junko's weight, they all burst out laughing, completely happy in their reunion. Stork was smart enough not to join the huddle, but a smile crept onto his face as he saw his leader safe and sound. Red Eagles even joined into the laughter, with Avior mentally marking how incredibly close the team was. A moment's worth of struggle and the team was back on their feet.

Once standing, Piper couldn't stop herself from launching a million and one questions at Aerrow. She was asking them in such a wild frenzy that everyone feared that she'd might forget to breathe. Aerrow was trying to comprehend what she was asking him, but was thankfully saved by Finn, who put a hand on Piper's shoulder, "Breathe, Piper. He's not going to be able to answer with you constantly talking." Piper apologized sheepishly.

Aerrow took notice of the behavior and laughed slightly, "Since when did Finn become the voice of reason?" The team was about to object when they stopped and looked at one another. Come to think about it, Finn had been the voice of reason for quite some time now. None of them could figure out how that happened, not even Finn. Even Stork was confused as he realized the truth of the matter. Aerrow, who had intended the comment as a joke, was also surprised as he'd never thought that that would happen.

"Whatever, so what happened to you during the storm?" Finn asked.

Happy to obliged, Aerrow began his account of what he was doing for the last year. Once outside the Condor, the storm had it. As he tried to control his skimmer, a viper bat caught in the winds slammed into him, nearly cutting him in two with its claws. After that he wasn't sure if he fell unconscious or not, but eventually he woke up in a bed with no clue where he was. The home owners had found him on the verge of death not only from falling who knows how far from the ground, but also from the poison in his veins from the viper bat's claws. Once recovered, he learned that the storm that nearly killed him and separated him from his team was a storm between the borderlands of the Atmos and the Far Side called the Dark Year: every so often the conflicting central energies between the two sides of the world build up to incredible levels until they have to be released. The result is a violent storm that's impossible to travel through. Also, the release of energy is beyond predictability. This is also a reason why the two have been separated for such a long time. No one wanted to risk the chance of being caught in that. After it was explained that he couldn't back until a year passed, Aerrow decided to make the best of the situation and train while he waited.

However, his training didn't go as planned. He had wanted to repay the people who had saved him so he offered to work on their farm. While the couple was nothing but kind and caring, the husband's father, Marco, was an eccentric old man who insisted that he work with him with the chickens. The only problem was that the chickens on the farm weren't the typical small white birds that strutted around everywhere: they were giant, dangerous feathered creatures that were incredibly difficult to take care of. This was his "training".

The teams laughed loudly until they saw that Aerrow was absolutely serious. He smirked a little, "Laugh all you want, but believe me, I've never had to fear for my life before then. And after the "chickens" were tended to, Marco helped to train me as well. He may be an old geezer, but the guy is ridiculously strong. He's probably the strongest guy I know."

"So you did this for a year?" Junko asked.

"Yup, as soon as the storm passed I asked to have a message passed on to you as I left for the Atmos. Not long after I got back, I ran into a few small-scale Cyclonian invasions. They weren't that difficult to deal with, but that's why I was a little late."

"So… is there a reason for why you're half naked?" Finn asked smirking.

Confused by the question, Aerrow answered, "Just habit now I guess."

Everyone's face was a question mark. Aerrow struggled to explained, "Well, dealing with the chickens tended to destroy my shirts everyday so I just stopped wearing them."

Not sure if to buy it, the team began to tell Aerrow of their trails after the storm. Horrified by the fact he wasn't there, Aerrow apologized.

"Don't worry about it, dude," Finn said, "We got out just fine, so it's no big deal."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Avior asked.

"Well, I guess we've got a job to do," Aerrow casually said. Avior nodded, he expected as much.

Just then the terra's invasion sirens blared through the streets. They all looked up and saw what looked like a small army coming towards the terra. A Red Eagle looked through a pair of binoculars and saw a bunch of rogue squadrons all flying the Predator symbol.

"Guess that Gunner guy was keeping his promise," Aerrow stated vaguely.

"Avior, what are we going to do?" a Red Eagle asked, slightly worried.

Before Avior could answer, Finn piped in, "We'll get rid of them for you."

They all looked at the Storm Hawks, wondering if they were serious. Not one of them had a worried look on their face, in fact; they looked excited.

"Good idea, I'll go get my stuff and meet you up there," Aerrow said, walking away.

"Nah, you already had your fun, let us deal with these guys," Finn stated.

Aerrow looked at them for a moment, then broke out in a smile, "Sure, why not?"

The Red Eagles just looked at them as if they were crazy, "Are you sure you don't need-"

"They can handle it," Aerrow said firmly.

The fight lasted about twenty minutes. The entire army was shot down by the team with amazing ease. The people of Atmosia were in complete awe. They didn't trust their eyes because they saw the Condor and skimmer completely destroying the rogue army in minutes. First of all, the Condor was destroyed in the Far Side. Second, how could any team defeat an entire army, let alone with such ease.

Whispers of the Storm Hawks spread across the terra like wildfire. They began to question if the Storm Hawks previously on the terra were real and these were the real ones. One man said that he met one of them as he came out of an inn with nothing but a backpack and an air board. Despite the chaos above him, he acted if it was a normal day. When the man asked if the mysterious man knew about the fight above them, he merely smiled and said he did and that it would be done shortly. Sure enough, it was.

After the fight, the Condor left the terra. Avior and the Red Eagles saluted it as it made for a new course. "Good luck, Storm Hawks."

**Again, sorry for a boring chapter but explanations are needed. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Storm Hawks**

**Hope you enjoy and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yeah, it's been quite a while since I've written a chapter for this one. I've been just so busy and caught up in my other stories that I've kind have forgotten about this one. Oops. Anyway, first chapter in a REALLY long time, so I hope you like it. **

Chapter 9: Gale

Dove flew through the skies, troubled. As a new member in the Rebel Duck squadron, she had spending even more time protecting Terra Gale than ever before. It wasn't like it was too hard, the majority of those who came to Gale were lowly rogues squadrons who could barely fly themselves. They were easily dispatched and thrown into jail in a manner of minutes. However, it wasn't the rogues that were bothering her; it was the rumors of the return of the Cyclonian Empire. She, like the rest of the Sky Knights, had seen Cyclonia fall and the Storm Hawks giving chase to Master Cyclonis. The Storm Hawks definitly defeated her for sure. But, it has been three years, she thought, what if they failed.

She shook her head violently; she wasn't allowed to think that way. The Storm Hawks were the best, if Cyclonis ever did escape again; they'd still follow her until her terror was over.

Just as her mind started to wander off, Dove's communicator on her bike blinked rapidly.

"Dove, there's trouble on the west side of Gale. Hurry over, quick!" called her commander.

Alert, Dove quickly turned around and headed for the west side of Gale.

Upon arriving at the scene, Dove couldn't believe what she saw. Cyclonian troops, everywhere. They were destroying everything and causing all types of chaos. Already, the rest of the Rebel Ducks were in the heat of the fight. Despite the obvious questions regarding the return of the Cyclonians, Dove entered the fray with intensity.

Wielding her energy staff with skill, Dove cut down the Cyclonian troops. However, they were so many of them that the Ducks were starting to become overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. The Ducks began to fall back and the Cyclonians advanced. Dove, still fighting her hardest, knew it was only a matter of time until they'd be overrun. The Ducks were pushed back further until they were trapped by a sea of Cyclonian solders. The soldiers laughed as they prepared to end the meddlesome squadron.

Dove, still trying to fend off the troops, heard a sound in the distance. It was a sound she'd never forget: the horn of the Condor. Sure enough, coming from the cloud line, the veteran battleship of the Storm Hawks appeared.

-00000-

On the Condor, everyone was getting back into the swing of things. Aerrow reclaimed his room and began with Piper and, surprisingly, Finn on battle tactics and strategy in dealing with the rogues and Cyclonians. Junko and Stork continued to fine tune the ship.

While looking at the map, Piper noticed Terra Gale to the south.

"Hey, guys. Why don't we stop by and say hello?" Piper suggested, "It's only been three years."

"Getting pestered by some crazy old man?" Finn said, "No thanks."

"Dove will be there," Piper teased.

Finn thought about it for a minute, "I'm in!" Aerrow and Piper only laughed.

However, a few miles out of Terra Gale, the sirens in the ships blared to life.

"What is it?" Junko asked.

"Cyclonians, attacking Gale," Finn said solemnly, looking at the scene.

"Let's go, guys!" Piper yelled, heading to the hanger. However, she stopped, seeing Aerrow blocking the way.

"Why don't you guys let me handle this?" he said.

"Uh, Aerrow. There's an army out there. I don't think one guy is going to cut it," Finn pointed out.

Stork piped, "He's right you know. The chance of survival in this situation is .00000000001 to none."

Aerrow simply waved it off, "Guys, don't worry. I haven't got the chance to show you guys what I can do."

"But-" Piper tried to say. "But nothing, trust me, I'll be fine." And he was out of the room in seconds.

-00000-

Dove looked up at the carrier with a mixture of relief and confusion. With the Storm Hawks here, the Cyclonians were done for. But how did they get back and what took them so long?

Out of the carrier, a small figure came speeding down towards them. It wasn't a skimmer; it was too small. If anything, it looked like someone was on a surf board of some type. The Cyclonians laughed at the figure, asking what someone could do on that thing.

-00000-

The rest of the team watched as Aerrow approached the troops with nothing but his air board from the Far Side. They all just stared stupidly.

"Anyone else think that our leader just went from being completely reckless to completely insane?" Finn asked.

Everyone just nodded their heads. This wouldn't be the last time they would question Aerrow's sanity.

-00000-

While the troops laughed at the absurdity of the situation, none of them were prepared for the full-on assault the newcomer was about to bring. Coming in fast, the newcomer turned sharply, knocking off one of the troops with his board. Looping around them, the fighter proceeded with the same process until they realized what was happening. The troops shot at the fighter would with an eased casualness dodge with little effort. In fact, his hands were in his pockets the entire time, not even bothering with any type of normal balance.

The troops charged at him, furious for being taken so lightly. As they came closer, the fighter jumped from his board and flipped over the skimmers at the same type knocking off the pilots to them. He then landed perfectly on his board, made an about turn and faced the rest of the troops.

Dove and the other Ducks watched with awe. Just who was this guy? He may have come out of the Condor, but this guy was just insane; extremely skilled, but still insane. What type of person readily takes on an entire army with nothing but some flying surf board? Then again, it was working. Dove studied the man, she definitely had never seen him before, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was somewhat familiar.

The troops charged at the fighter again. This time the fighter flew towards the outcropping land masses around them. With his board, he was able to maneuver much better than the bulky skimmers that the Cyclonians had. As a result, several of them ran into the random land masses. The fighter seeing his opponents dwindling fast flew directly towards one of the bigger land masses. He came closer and closer, but still didn't change his course. A few of the Cyclonians, scared, flew away in fear of running into the wall. The others continued, determined to get rid of the pest. When he was less than a foot away from the wall, the fighter suddenly shot up, hovering upward inches from the wall. As he ascended up the wall, the Cyclonians following him all ran into the wall.

Coming back up, the fighter saw that there were only six troops left. Raising an eyebrow, he asked them, "So, who's next?"

Looking at one another, the troops hightailed it out of Gale, not bothering to pick up their fallen comrades.

Laughing, the fighter flew towards the stunned Ducks. He was met with three others that came from the Condor, all on skimmers.

"You do realize that you've completely skipped crazy and went straight to insanity," a blond young man said to the fighter.

The fighter smiled, "I told you that I'd fine."

The girl of the group shook her head, "Finn's right, Aerrow. What you just did was nothing that a sane person would do."

"Since when have we've done what sane people do?" Aerrow asked, offended.

The Wallop interjected, "He has a point, you guys." The other two merely shrugged.

Dove and the Ducks gaped at the conversation. Did they? Did they just-? How could? WHAT?

Dove came closer and examined them for a moment. "Storm Hawks?" she said, barely a whisper.

The group all smiled. The blond winked at her, "Come on, Dove. Don't tell me that you don't remember the Finnster?"

"Like she'd want to remember," Piper added.

"Hey!"

Realizing who they all were, Dove turned to Aerrow, "Aerrow?"

"It's good to see you again, Dove," tipping his hat to her.

Slowly, a bright, wide smile appeared on her face, "It's you! It's really you!"

"Of course. Who else would we be?" Finn said.

"Finn, go easy on her," Piper patronized, "Remember the reactions we got in Atmosia? What was she supposed to think?"

"Easy, Piper," Finn ginned, "I'm only joking."

As Finn and Piper continued to argue, Junko asked, "So, you're a full member of the Ducks now, huh? Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Dove replied sheepishly. Then she turned to Aerrow, "So do you mind telling me want the Cyclonians are doing here?"

The smile on Aerrow's face faltered a little, but stayed in place. "That's a long story."

-00000-

After some time, both parties were up to speed on things. The Ducks learned of the Storm Hawks travels and adventures, while the Storm Hawks learned in better detail the situation in the Atmos. Aerrow was troubled by the situation. He wished that they could have done something about it. Nevertheless, even with the rogues everywhere, their number one priority was taking care of Cyclonis. She and the Dark Ace were still the Atmos' biggest threat, and they needed to be stopped.

After spending some time in Gale, the Storm Hawks set out again, looking for Cyclonian activity. As they left, Dove watched with a new sense of hope. With the Storm Hawks back, the real ones, the Atmos was bound to be safe again.

Unknown to her or anyone else, a figure had watched the entire battle and scene with great interest. Slipping away, the figure had great news to tell his master.

**Yeah this chapter was mostly just to get across the point that Aerrow went from the reckless daredevil that he was to just full out insanity. Why, because he can now, all that training with the crazy chicken farmer did its work. Then again, in the Far Side story bits I came up with in my mind, Aerrow had to come up with random and very "original" ways to stay alive. So, yeah, any fear of losing, getting hurt, or even dying are completely non-computable in his head any more.**

**Again, sorry for not writing this story more often. I've just been so into my other ones that it's been taking time away from this one. If I ever do get back into writing this more, the story does pick up quite a lot. I promise. **

**Until then, hope you enjoyed and please review and give suggestions!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Storm Hawks**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, getting back into this story as I'm waiting for inspiration to hit me for my other ones. Nothing yet. Anyway, I thought you would like it to see more of the rogues that you kept hearing about. So this is more informative than anything, but I hope you like it!**

Chapter 10: Rogues

The wind wiped through the hollow air that surrounded the Sky Side Shanty. The once popular hot spot for travelers and information had been abandoned by the general population ever since the rogue infestation. Instead of Sky Knights and other decent folk stopping by for a drink and some entertainment, the small bar had been overrun by the rogues, making it almost impossible to even get there,… or get out. The workers were practically forced to keep the Shanty open for almost nothing. It was taking a toll on them. Nevertheless, they continued to serve the rogues, hoping that something might change.

The Shanty was filled with plenty of rogues: there were the Snipers, the Rippers, the Birds of Prey, the Steel Beaks, and many more. However, the was one group of rogues that were set apart from the rest and the others shot quick glances of fear and awe at them. They were the Red Talons, who had a number of very familiar faces. Their "Sky Knight" and leader was none other than the ex-Red Eagle himself, Carver. To his left were the cast out ex-Cyclonian siblings, Ravess and Snipe. Next to the brother and sister were much younger and less known faces. They were the Cyclonian wannabe, Jay, and the former Talon Academy cadet, Top Dog. This group of famous rejects was now one of the strongest squadrons out there and was one of the Elite Rogues, feared throughout the Atmos.

The team was formed two years ago when Ravess, with the help of the recovered Snipe, broke Carver out of prison during a raid by the newly formed Sky Kings, another Elite Rogue squadron, attacked Terra Atmosia. Ravess had the idea to form a rogue squadron of her own and knew that she needed a powerful Sky Knight to be at the head, at least figuratively. She had decided that Carver would do, knowing that he had only been beaten by Aerrow, who was stuck in the Far Side, in the past and was more the likely wanting revenge for his treatment. Shortly, after freeing Carver, he immediately took charge to a point where even Ravess followed his orders, though there seemed to a bit of a romantic trace in her following. They found the two young ones, who still held great potential and allowed them to join their ranks. They were the smallest Elite Rogue in the Atmos, but all the more powerful. In fact, only the rogue squadron ahead of them was the Predators.

The members were talking amongst themselves, wondering what to do next. They could attack the Timekeepers or go after a Sky Knight squadron. There were so many options and so many targets that they couldn't decide. As they debated, a man came into the bar and scanned the room. Once spotted them, the man came over and introduced himself.

"My name is Byrdon. I am a member of the Predators. My boss wishes to see you at our base on Terra Drago."

"Predators, huh? We don't talk with any stinkin' Predators," Snipe spat. The two younger ones agreed; they always liked Snipe.

"Why does he want to talk now?" Carver asked suspicious.

"He is gathering all of the Elite Rogues together. He says that there is something important to discuss."

"What is it?" Ravess asked.

"I don't know myself, but I heard that it has something to do with an old war coming back."

Carver and Ravess looked at one another for a moment, contemplating what it was, while Snipe and the other two were discussing their next target. When the man didn't leave, Snipe turned and yelled, "Didn't you hear? We told you we ain't –"

"We'll come," Carver interrupted.

Snip looked at Carver shocked, "But Carver, these guys-"

"There's something going on in Atmos," Carver said, "I want to know what it is." He and Ravess got up and followed the man out. After a moment or two, the other three followed suit, muted.

-00000-

Terra Drago was a lonely terra located in the northwest quadrant of the Atmos. Years of seasonal winds and storms had shaped the terra into the eerie form of a dragon. A storm raged through the night as five squadrons met in the fortress inside the mouth of the dragon. And I say fortress for a good reason. The Predators were, in a sense, a small empire themselves. Nothing on the scale of Cyclonia, but still very powerful. They had taken in many rogues to form an army of 60,000 men. Thus, the grand fortifications and organization in the army were a force to reckon with.

In the center of the fortress was a large building with many skimmers waiting outside. Inside, there was a grand hall with a long counsel table of marble and at the head was what looked like a gold throne. _It's nice to see that the leader of the Predators is so humble,_ many thought. Despite their bitterness and contempt at being summoned, all of them were curious to meet the Predator leader. No one has ever seen and lived to tell the tale, except in his own ranks. Thus, the leader was a complete mystery. They were all anxious for his revelation.

A number of moments passed yet the leader did not show. Duke, the leader of the Sky Kings, had reached his limits of patience and banged his fist on the table as he stood up.

"Where is the bastard? He's kept us waiting here like his little soldiers. I only came here because I have nothing better to do and hoped to learn something interesting. If that coward won't show himself, than my men and I will leave this pathetic rock." Many nodded in agreement, frustrated that they were forced to wait so long.

Not a moment after Duke's speech, a nonchalant drawl said, "Well, Duke, if you wish to go out and lose that one hundred and thirteen winning streak of yours, be my guest." They all turned towards the voice to see a young man, most likely in his early twenties, enter the room. He was tall with short shaggy, carefree hair of sapphire blue and amber eyes like a hawk. There was a deceptive air to him, as if you could quite be certain of his next move, which was for the most part exactly that. He strode over to the gold throne and casually sat in, resting his face on one hand.

As the entire group gaped at him, he spoke in the same drawl, "Well. I'm terribly sorry that I kept all of you waiting. But when you have an entire army to run, what can you do?"

Finally, getting over the initial shock from his appearance, Rex, leader of the Devil Birds, asked, "Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the man sneered, "I'm the leader of the Predators. 'Hawkeye' Drake."

Many slammed their fists into the table, "You can't be the leader of the Predators!"

Drake raised his eyebrow, "Oh? Why not?"

A very scary woman with wild hair, Mavis the leader of the Knight Sirens, shrieked, "You are too young!"

At this, Drake went into a fit of hysterical laughter. Everyone, but Carver and Ravess were furious at this. Carver and Ravess only looked at each and nodded. They knew age meant nothing.

"What is so funny," they all roared.

Still wiping the tears from his eyes, Drake struggled to say, "I would have thought that you of all people wouldn't be surprised at this."

When everyone had confusion on their faces, Drake sighed and turned towards Carver and Ravess, "Perhaps, you two can enlighten them."

Everyone turned to the duo even Snipe and the other two. Ravess sighed and cleared her throat. "I believe that Drake here is implying the squadron where you all got your inspiration for being unofficial." Again there were more blank stares and Carver couldn't take it any longer, "He means the Storm Hawks!"

There was a silence in the room for a moment. The others finally caught up to what Drake was implying. The Storm Hawks were the youngest team that ever existed. They were mere children when they stopped the powerful empire of Cyclonia, which was run by a child as well. They were all powerful even at a ridiculous young age. If they were that young, a twenty year old leading a rogue army shouldn't be all that surprising.

"Funny you mentioned them Carver, because that is exactly who I want to discuss," Drake said, getting their attention back.

Carver looked at the young leader, confused, "What do you mean?"

Looking at the ceiling in a bored way, Drake started, "It seems that the Storm Hawks that have been fighting us this last year and a half were not the real ones. They were imposters."

A stunned silence filled the room. They had run into the Storm Hawks a couple times, and though usually something got in the way of fighting them, they seemed to be the real thing. Just what was Drake saying?

"How do you know?" Mavis asked.

"One of my captains, Gunner of the Firebirds, recently got his ass kicked by Aerrow who had nearly destroyed a town square in Terra Atmosia in a fight with the Dark Ace."

Several of the rogues' hearts seem to stop. The Dark Ace was supposed to be dead. He was killed by his own master. He was not alive.

Seeing the looks on their faces, Drake smirked, "Oh he's alive alright. I saw the damage myself. It had Dark Ace written all over it."

"So if the Dark Ace is back," Duke started slowly, "than is she back as well?"

"You bet. She already has her army up and running. They've already taken several small terras by Cyclonia."

This was bad news; very, very bad news. The Sky Knights were hard to fight, but they had numbers on their side. If a power hungry empire was thrown into the mix, than they weren't sure if they could make it.

"But what does this have to do with the Storm Hawks?" Rex asked in his thick accent, "I thought you said that they were imposters?"

"The ones we've been dealing with the last year or so have been. But the originals have finally made it back. And it looks like they got a hell of a lot better."

Several of the rogues looked at one another, scared. They hadn't known the Storm Hawks before so they assumed, like everyone else, that the ones that were here for the last year and a half were the real ones. If they were and the real ones were even more powerful than before, just what could happen to them?

"How do you know that?" Duke asked, suspicious.

"First of all, the fight between the Dark Ace and Aerrow that Gunner described suggests that it couldn't anyone else. They were perfectly matched and very powerful. There's one person that was ever Dark Ace's equal and that was Aerrow."

As the others murmured to each other, Carver, despite himself, nodded. He remembered fighting Aerrow and as much as he hated to admit it, he was better than him, better than many others. Only Aerrow could fight on par with the Dark Ace, and that was a feat that no one else could do.

Drake continued, "Afterwards, it seems that Aerrow got on the wrong foot with Gunner, so Gunner tried to fight him. Gunner was brought down with a single punch."

Again, more stunned silence. Gunner, for all his terrible habits and attitude problems, was not a slouch. He was a very skilled fighter and he was the leader of the second under squadron of the Predators; there were a total of thirty.

"Gunner called for a dispatch of a thousand troops to fight the Storm Hawks. They met just outside of the terra. The Storm Hawks defeated them in a manner of minutes. They did this without Aerrow."

At this they all gaped stupidly, even Carver and Ravess. The Storm Hawks were good, but not that good. To defeat so many, without their best fighter, was not something they should be able to do. Then again, it has been three years. Three years of who knows what in the Far Side. They easily could have gotten better.

As they all soaked in the information, Drake smirked, "I think I shall go and fight them."

"Are you crazy!?" they all screamed. He had just made the point that they were ridiculously strong. Why would he go and fight them?

"I've been looking for a decent challenge. Aerrow and the Dark Ace are practically legends now. I wonder what it be like to fight them."

Carver stood up and pointed at Drake, "If anyone is going to defeat that pain in the neck, it's going to be me." The rage from his defeat still to this day boiled in him.

Drake regarded him for a moment, and then shrugged, "Third's time the charm. I'm in no hurry to fight them yet, so go ahead."

Ticked at his flippant speech, Carver left the room, with his team in tow. The other squadrons followed suit. Drake lazily watched them go. Once the Storm Hawks dispatched them all, he'd have free reign over the rogues in the Atmos. Then he could overwhelm the Storm Hawks and the Cyclonias, and be the undisputed ruler in the Atmos. Plus, what he said was true. He looked forward to a fight with the Dark Ace and Aerrow, especially Aerrow. He wanted to see just how skilled the youngest Sky Knight in history was.

Unknown to all of the rogues, even Drake, a shadow lurked in the corner, watching the entire conversation.

**So, like I said more informative than anything, but it does set the stage for the next chapter so whatever. **

**Hope you enjoyed and please review and give suggestions!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own the Storm Hawks**


	11. Chapter 11

**Again, for some reason I have a strong urge to write this story now and got nothing for my other ones, which is starting to tick some people off, so I should probably get on that… Oh well.**

Chapter 11: Saying Hello

The Condor rested just outside the perimeter of Terra Amazonia as the Storm Hawks began a new set of training. Still children at heart, the training consisted mostly of games and other stunts. The only difference was the danger level. Not that they weren't reckless before, but as Aerrow's sanity appeared to dwindle, so did the sanity of many of the "training" exercises.

At the moment, they were just beginning flight training. Aerrow had been looking forward to this immensely. It would be the first time he was on a skimmer in over a year. He loved his air board and probably would use it more often than his skimmer just from habit, but still he missed his skimmer.

"You sure that you remember how to fly that thing?" Finn jokingly asked next to him.

Aerrow gave him a cocky smile, "Of course."

The two revved up their engines and in a quick burst of speed shot down into the thickest and most dangerous part of the jungle terra. It was simply a race. However, the rules were that they could only fly, which would prove difficult and dangerous in the dense forest, where thick trees and terrifying beasts were always popping out. Despite these obstacles, the two pilots zoomed through the trees, beasts, and other objects with an unnatural ease and at ridiculous speeds.

Finn concentrated hard. He was weaving his way through the thickets and animals as fast as he could. He was in the lead and he wanted to keep it that way. After some time, he looked back to see how far ahead he was. He could see Aerrow anywhere. In the past, he would have cheered and praised himself for his 'accomplishment'. He had grown a lot in the Far Side and was wise enough to know that a missing Aerrow was not a good sign. Keeping his focus on the terrain, Finn continued to fly.

Finn saw the edge of the terra and passed through the trees. He came to a stop and hovered, looking for his leader. He scanned the area and smiled to himself. Just as he did so, he heard an all too familiar voice from above.

"How's it going, Finn? Took you long enough."

Finn looked up to find his friend reclining on his skimmer, smiling. An irritated look appeared on Finn's face, "Do I even want to know how you beat me?"

Aerrow thought for a moment, "Probably not." Finn just sighed as he became level with Aerrow. Radaar was shaking in his seat, looking as if he was going to have a heart attack. This confirmed Finn's thought.

-00000-

Up in the Condor, the rest of the Storm Hawks watched the race (or at least attempted to). The dense jungle made it rather difficult to see whether or not the boys could get through the forest in one piece. After some time, Aerrow shot out of the thickets and rose above the area slightly. Not a moment too soon, Finn shot out of the jungle as well. After a brief minute Finn looked up to see that Aerrow had beaten him.

As the two laughed at the results, Piper was surprised at the race. Not that she thought Aerrow wouldn't win, she knew he would. Despite not being on a skimmer for over a year, Aerrow had a natural talent for piloting. She knew that he probably was right at home on his sky ride. What was surprising was that Finn was right behind him. She knew for a fact that Aerrow, more than likely, pulled some crazy stunt in the jungle to get ahead. Even so, Finn was right behind him.

She hated to admit it, but Finn had matured a great deal in the Far Side and the year that they were stranded. He had taken charge in a good way and made sure everyone was alright. Also, he sharpened his talents to new levels that even she wasn't sure of.

As she mused to herself, Stork came up from behind.

"Uh, Piper? We've got a problem."

Piper turned to him, eyebrow up.

"It seems that there is a small squadron coming closer from the other side of the terra. By their slow speed, my guess is that they're waiting to ambush us."

Piper quickly thanked the Far Side for the new technology they had obtained. She thanked Stork for the information, and turned to walk to the hangar, but stopped. Normally, they would all go out to face the enemy. But with their incredible increase in strength, especially Aerrow, was it necessary? Finally, she took a radio from her belt and called Aerrow.

"Yeah, Piper. What's up?"

"Hey, can you guys go over to the other side of the terra. Stork thinks that there is a squadron ready to ambush us."

"No problem."

She shook her head when the signal cut out. _Of course_.

-00000-

On the other side of the terra were the Red Talons slowly making their way towards the stationary carrier. They had received a tip that a ship that looked like the Condor was resting on Terra Amazonia. Remembering what Drake had said, they had hoped that these were the real ones.

As they came closer and closer, they finally got a good view of the ship and stopped.

"That's definitely the real one," Carver said firmly. Ravess nodded, all too familiar with the old ship.

Snipe smashed his mace into his hand, "Let's go smash 'em!" The other two eagerly agreed.

"Patience," Ravess hissed, "Remember what Drake said?"

Snipe huffed, "Like I believe what that runt said."

"You better believe it, Snipe," Carver said, "I wouldn't put it passed them to get stronger in the Far Side."

"But I want to smash 'em!" Snipe whined.

"Be quiet!" Ravess commanded.

"So… what are you guys doing?" a voice asked.

Everyone, who all had been looking at the bickering siblings, turned to the voice to see a young man crouching on the wing of Carver's skimmer. It was a ridiculous sight. The man was shirtless, wearing only black shorts, boots, and a hat. His hat obscured part of his face with a shadow.

"Who the hell are you?" Carver demanded, furious that someone had landed on his ride without his notice.

Before the man could say anything, another voice asked, "Why does everyone ask that question? I think this the twentieth time I've heard it."

Everyone's head snapped up to see another young man on a skimmer that looked familiar. He was blond with stubble and a rough looking outfit that consisted with a brown vest, dark blue long sleeve shirt, and faded grey pants covered by brown boots. He leaned against his ride casually, a smirk playing on his face. For some reason, this ticked off Ravess.

"Who are you?" Ravess asked, repeating Carver's question.

However, instead of answering the question the man on the skimmer squinted hard at her before widening his eyes in disbelief. She started wondering if there was something on her face when he gasped, "No way! It can't be!"

"What is it?" the other one asked.

"It's Ravess," the first one said.

Ravess smiled. So they knew of her. This would make things easier.

"So you've heard of me, have you? Good. Then you'll realize that it is foolish to fight with us," she said calmly.

The two men glanced at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter, their relatively deep voices filling the air with mirth.

"What's so funny?!" she practically screamed.

The shirtless one stopped suddenly and squinted at the others. "Let's see. That must be Snipe," jabbing a thumb at the huge warrior, "and you're… are you… Carver?" he said staring at the leader.

"Who are you?" Top Dog asked.

The man squinted harder at Top Dog's direction, "Is that? Is that you, Top Dog?"

Top Dog was taken aback like the rest of them. He and Jay weren't famous like the others, so why did this guy know him?

To voice their question, the other man asked, "How do you know him?"

"He was that kid from the Talon Academy that I told you about," the man answered.

"Oh, yeah. Now I remember. You guys told me all about him and how much he hated you."

They were both laughing, "Yeah, I had one hell of a reputation there."

"Who the hell are you!" the rogues all screamed.

The two stopped and looked questioningly at them. As the two turned back to look at them, Carver noticed something. On the breast pocket of the blond man's vest was an emblem, the emblem of the Storm Hawks. Darting his eyes quickly to the first man, he noticed a small silver chained necklace that had the Storm Hawk bird hanging on it. He eyes darted back and forth between the two, hardly daring to believe it.

Stammering, he said, "It…it can't be. You're – you're the – the Storm Hawks!"

Everyone snapped back to Carver and then to the two men. They were both smiling. "Well, it's about damn time," the blond said.

"Really," the other piped in, "it couldn't have been that hard."

"Then again, we are older."

"We have changed a lot."

"We're stronger."

"And faster."

"And smarter."

"And better."

"And not to mention better looking than we already were… well except for Stork."

"ENOUGH!" Carver screamed. The two stopped again and looked at him.

He pointed to the blond, "You must be Finn."

"Well, duh!"

Carver ignored the comment and slowly turned to the man still crouched on his wing. Narrowing his eyes in disgust, he spat, "And that must make you, Aerrow."

Aerrow gave a small salute, "Nice to see you again, Carver."

The rest just stared at the two. If there were expecting any change in their old foes, it wasn't this. They were almost unrecognizable. If they hadn't known better, they'd say that these were the imposters and the others the real ones. But their attitude and mannerisms were so on par with only slight change that it was impossible to say that they weren't the real ones. Yet here they were the leader and the sharpshooter, casually talking to them as if it were nothing.

Carver, getting over the shock of it all, and he didn't know how much more he could take, smiled evilly. "Well, you just saved us the time of coming to you," he rose out of his seat and taking out his energy blade, "let me give you a proper welcome home gift."

Aerrow's eyebrow went up, still crouching in place. Just as Carver took a step towards him, Aerrow leaned over and fell off the skimmer. Carver went to look over his ride only to have his face slammed by something hard and metal. Rubbing his chin, Carver looked up to see Aerrow standing, hands in his pockets, on his skimmer with Radaar waving at the ex-Cyclonians.

Furious, Carver made to make a swing, but there was a sharp ring, and his blade was knocked out of his hand. He turned to Finn, who was resting his crossbow on his shoulder carelessly.

"I'd think twice about doing that if I were you," he simply stated.

Ravess made for her bow, but by the time she had gotten it out, it, too, was knocked out of her hand and falling towards the Wastelands. She growled at him, but he made acknowledgement at the fact.

"Get them!" Carver ordered. As they came towards the duo, Aerrow looked at Finn and jerked his head towards the terra. "Want to go two for two?"

"Sure," and they both got on their skimmers and flew into the densest part of the forest. Had they Red Talons not have been so mad at them, they probably would have gave chase less eagerly into the dangerous jungle. But as it was, they were so angry that they didn't give it a second thought.

Less than five minutes did it take to lose the Red Talons in the thick jungle. Aerrow and Finn came out of the terra, chatting amongst themselves and complimenting each other on their skill, as if the confrontation with the ex-Cyclonians didn't happen.

Once back on the Condor, the two told the story of what happened. Once done, they decided to leave, not out of fear of revenge from the Red Talons, but simply because they were done with training and were going to see if anyone needed their help. So once the Red Talons finally managed to find their way out, the sight of the missing Condor served to only anger them further.

**So this chapter is pretty much a filter to see old faces and humor. Also a bit descriptive. To point out, all the Storm Hawks now only have a small emblem on them to show their squadron. Aerrow's necklace, Finn's breast pocket, Piper has an emblem on her arm (see deviantart), Junko has emblems on his gloves, Radaar on his pants, but Stork still has a larger one on his back. They kind of going for the less is more so to speak. Anyway, not an incredibly important chapter, but still, makes for good fun. **

**Until next time! Please review and all suggestions are welcomed!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own the Storm Hawks. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Civil Clash

The low clouds crept through the skies over Terra Rex. Despite the overcast day, the terra was alive with uncontrollable energy. The source of the commotion was coming from the grand stadium which was filled to the brim with people. They were cheering loudly, some urging their Sky Knight to victory and others for the other side. On the floor of the stadium, the media captured every moment. Despite the praise of their fans, the Rex Guardians weren't enjoying it.

Harrier was irritated to say the least. Normally, he would love the chance to show off his superiority in front of his fans. But, this was an absolute joke. He wanted to leave, but his honor wouldn't allow him… and his pride. He and his team had managed to get themselves into a challenge against the Storm Hawks. Only problem was that they weren't the real Storm Hawks.

Harrier had gain an enormous respect for the Storm Hawks after the war with Cyclonia. The young team was, by far, the most honor-worthy team that had ever roamed the Atmos. Here were these children, so young and full of energy, leading the Sky Knights in battle and defeating the most feared empire in the Atmos. Nothing like that has ever happened before. Then, after the battle, they went and chased Cyclonis into the unknown Far Side without hesitation. After that, any remaining doubts of the Storm Hawks that were in Harrier's mind were crushed into dust. All of his taunts and jeers against the young team were now a source of his greatest shame. He was furious at himself for being such a foolish, arrogant man. Age didn't mean everything; being old doesn't make one wise nor does being young make one foolish. This exception to the rule of age and wisdom had hit him hard.

So, this is why he and the rest of his team were the most outspoken against the "Storm Hawks" when they returned. He, knowing them and their ways all too well, knew immediately that they were fakes and took each and every opportunity to make it known to the rest of the Atmos. The only problem was, since they looked so much like the real ones, people didn't believe the Sky Knight. As such though, the "Storm Hawks" didn't take kindly at the attempts to defraud them, so they would jeer the old team, gaining more affirmation by the rest of the public.

Now that the tension between the two teams had heated up to a great degree, the "Storm Hawks" had challenged the Guardians, just like the original team. If they won, the Guardians would recognize them as the real team. If they lost, they would stop being a team. So, the challenge had begun. With the Rex Guardians' training, they should have been easily the winners. However, in a twisted sense of bad karma, the "Storm Hawks" took advantage of the Guardians beloved code, and used it against them. This made the Guardians hate them even further.

The score was tied and the last event was to take place, the Sky Knight Duel. As the preparations were being made, Harrier looked at the leader of the "Storm Hawks" in absolute disgust. This – this boy was imitating the greatest Sky Knight ever, dragging all of his hard work through the mud. Then again, he couldn't even call him the leader. It was painfully obvious that the true ringleader of the group was "Finn". He'd ordered everyone around like he was a king. Harrier really wanted to hit him over the head.

"Aerrow" looked over at Harrier nervously. "Finn" had told him how to beat the veteran Sky Knight, but he still was uneasy. He had been uneasy ever since Terra Atmosia when that explosion went off. He knew that someone really powerful had done it, and he wasn't too keen on fighting any strong opponent at the time being.

The chief judge motioned for the two Sky Knights to mount their rides. Harrier was determined to beat the fool into a pulp. "Aerrow" was hoping that "Finn's" plan would work. They were about to take off when a loud crash was heard above them.

Everything came to a hush as everyone looked up to the sky. After the initial crash, several others followed, along with many others sounds. The "Storm Hawks" and the crowd were trying to figure out was the sounds were, but the Rex Guardians knew those sounds all too well. They were the sounds of battle and a big one at that. The Guardians braced themselves for battle, yet didn't go up. Flying into an unknown battle was foolish and until they could discern the fight, it was best to stay put.

They were about to send one of their scouts up to check, when there was a break in the clouds and the battle was revealed. Everyone looked at the fight in awe and fear. The battle wasn't a typically rogue/knight squabble or a fight against an Elite. It was a fierce battle of war. To make matters worse, Harrier noticed the large insignia on a large destroyer: the Cyclonian Talon. As everyone else realized the foe, a deep dread engulfed them. The Cyclonian Empire was destroyed. They were finished. They shouldn't be here. It was upon seeing this, along with the intense aerial battle, that the "Storm Hawks" slipped away, scared, without anyone noticing.

Harrier squinted harder at the fight, trying to make out who the Cyclonians were fighting. He noticed that the Cyclonian destroyer was locked in battle with a smaller carrier that looked incredibly familiar. He squinted harder and harder until he saw the emblem on its side light up from the flying energy blasts: the emblem of the Storm Hawks. Gaping at the emblem, he realized just what that ship was, the Condor. Not daring to believe it, he looked at the battle again, noticing this time that the fight was against an army of Cyclonians and four blue skimmers.

Why he didn't realize it in the first place, he didn't know. He was going to have his team go up and help when a strange feeling held him back. It was telling him not to go up, and that they would take care of it. So, he and his team watched the fight unfold above them.

-00000-

The Storm Hawks had been roaming the skies near Terra Rex when the fight started. As they were debating whether or not to visit the Rex Guardians, Aerrow randomly grabbed hold of the controls and jerked the entire carrier right. The team had barely asked what he was doing when they noticed a large energy bolt zoom right passed where they were a moment ago. A second later, the sirens rang through the Condor and Cyclonian army came into view. They ran to the hanger, mounted their rides, and went to face the enemy.

Once outside, it was complete chaos. Swarms of Cyclonian troops were everywhere, determined to end the meddlesome team. Junko chased after one group, taking them down one by one. Piper wielded her crystal staff with skill and took out ten troops in a single shot. Finn, whose ability greatly increased, flew through the ranks of enemy, taking down everyone as his arrows hit his targets.

Aerrow and Radaar weaved in and out of the soldiers, easily defeating anyone who came near them. Aerrow knew that this army wasn't meant for them; it was too small. He figured that they were an invasion force heading towards Terra Rex and upon seeing them, opened fire. Luckily, Aerrow had sensed the incoming attack, how he didn't know, and moved the Condor out of range.

As they flew around and around, he was searching for a commander. If he took out the commander, the rest of the force would fall as well. After sometime, he looked down and saw who he was looking for. He stood up, told Radaar to take over, and jumped down into the absolute chaos below. He fell right by numbers of fighting soldiers, but never was hit. He came down upon a skimmer and instead of landing directly on it, he shot passed it slightly, grabbed hold of the bottom and swung back behind the rider, who which he punched in the face. The man held his face slightly and turned to Aerrow, "I see that you're still mad about Terra Atmosia."

"Very funny," Aerrow said, carelessly.

The Dark Ace laughed, "You don't have to be so angry, Aerrow."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aerrow commented, getting into a fighting stance. A moment later and the two began to fight.

Stork was, surprisingly, having fun. In the Far Side, a number of new technologies had come to his attention. He eagerly took to them and adapted them to his beloved Condor. This is why he was able to take on the large Cyclonian destroyer with the smaller ship. By pressing a button, several crystal cannons appeared on the Condor's side, firing at the Cyclonian ship. With the combined ingenuity of Finn's accuracy and Junko's power, the cannons were a devastating force.

This forced the Cyclonian destroyer to unleash its main weapon. A large cannon appeared on the side of the destroyer and aimed at the little ship. Seeing this, Stork pressed another button, and a slightly smaller cannon appeared on its side. The charged energy of both cannons were released and met in between. The force of the combined blasts pushed the two carriers slightly. Also, the blasts sent small streaks of lightning-like energy into the battle, taking down several skimmers. One of the streaks hit the Dark Ace's ride, destroying it.

The two warriors were thrown off the skimmer and began falling towards the terra below. The Dark Ace activated his glider and flew in the air to get his bearings. Upon seeing that his opponents didn't have a means to save himself, he smirked. Finn noticed the blast and tried to help Aerrow, but was cut off by the Dark Ace. He was about to fire at the enemy when he saw Aerrow waving at him cheerfully and pointing back at the battle. Again wondering about Aerrow's sanity, he did what he was told and flew back into the battle. When the Dark Ace saw this, he looked back at Aerrow who smirked at him, saluted, and that nosed dive down towards the terra. Wondering what he was up to, the Dark Ace followed.

Once the Dark Ace came closer and he was closer to the ground, Aerrow took his energy blades, pointed them behind him, and used the energy blast to propel him through the sky. He arched over to the top edge of the stadium, where he dropped down on a railing and rode down on one of his blades. When the railing stopped, he jumped up and skidded to a stop on the stadium floor. He muttered to himself, "Looks like I got to work on that landing." Everyone just blinked and gaped stupidly, including the Rex Guardians there.

The Dark Ace landed a few feet away from Aerrow, a strange look on his face. Ignoring the questions and gasps accompanying his arrivals, he asked, "Does the term 'self-preservation' even penetrate that think skull of yours?"

Aerrow thought for a moment, "Nope."

"Of course," the Dark Ace commented, rolling his eyes. He noticed the crowd and media and smiled, "Well isn't this just perfect. The entire Atmos can watch as I bring you to your knees."

"You keep telling yourself that," Aerrow commented, smirking.

Then, not a moment later, the two engaged in battle once again. It was almost like a repeat of Terra Atmosia, only they were moving even faster if that was possible. They flipped, turned, and rolled around to get an advantage to no avail. Just like Atmosia, they were evenly matched. They both jumped back and performed their special moves. The blasts intercepted each in the middle creating a shock wave that was even more powerful than the one that the two cannons had made earlier. So, everyone besides the two warriors was knocked down.

As everyone got back up, the two were at it again. They didn't know what was going on. Harrier was extremely confused. He knew that the Dark Ace was supposed to be dead, but here he was. Also, the Cyclonians were fighting the Storm Hawks, but who was this man fighting the Dark Ace. He had never seen him before. Also, he had to agree with the Dark Ace. The man was shirtless and didn't have any means of saving himself if he fell off a skimmer. Was the man trying to kill himself? Then again, the way he did save himself was completely different. He never saw someone do that before. He was racking his brain to figure it out.

The two fighters stopped and looked up when a loud crushing noise came from above. Stork had managed to destroy on of the engines on the destroyer and it began to nose dive towards the terra. There were shrieks of fear as everyone gasped at the incoming ship. A skimmer shot in front of it and a great light appeared and pushed the Cyclonian ship towards the wastelands. Aerrow shook his head, "Good thing, Piper's here. Or we all would have been toasted."

The Dark Ace nodded in agreement, "You're right. If she didn't stop that ship, our fight would have been useless. We'd both be dead."

Harrier looked at the conversation confused. One moment the two were trying to kill one another and now they were having a civil conversation.

The Dark Ace turned to Aerrow, "Well, looks like my time here is done. Until next time, Aerrow" and a soldier picked him up.

Aerrow gave a half wave, "Don't cry over your loss."

The Cyclonians left and the Condor and the rest of the Storm Hawks came down.

"Well, that was fun," Finn said, smiling.

Piper gave him an exasperated look, "Speak for yourself. At least you didn't have to move an entire destroyer on a moment's notice."

"It's not my fault you have weird powers."

And then they began to argue again. Radaar came and perched himself on Aerrow's shoulder and Junko noticed a cut on Aerrow's other shoulder, "Are you alright, Aerrow?"

Everyone turned to him and gasped at his wound. It was deep and bleeding profusely. Aerrow, noticing it for the first time, looked at it and shrugged, "Huh. Would you look at that?" He then fell over in exhaustion. On the soldier skimmer, the Dark Ace, too, fell unconscious.

As everyone fretted over Aerrow and answered many questions, the fact that the Storm Hawks had truly returned was broadcasted across the Atmos. In the crowd, a man gave a questioning glance at the recovering Sky Knight. There was a possibility that he was – but that was impossible. He got up and left to tell his master of the news.

**Well, that was interesting. Yeah, the Dark Ace and Aerrow have this really weird truce thing or something going on, as that they only try to kill each other in battle or something. Hence the reason why they act almost civilly when not fighting. It's a weird rivalry that just gets weirder, trust me. Also, their fighting ability was what actually made them pass out. It drained so much energy that they just collapsed, but neither would really notice. **

**Hope you enjoyed and please review and give suggestions!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own the Storm Hawks. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello! I'm truly sorry for not writing that often, but I am extremely busy and do not have that much time to write, but oh well. **

**Anyhow, I thought you would all like to learn more about how Cyclonis is doing. So here you go. **

Chapter 13: Musings

The gloomy and violent weather that clung to the atmosphere around New Cyclonia could send eerie chills down the spines of many. The reconstructed empire was symbol of raw and terrible power. True, it had a grand greatness to it, but the menacing essence that poured out of it scared even the hardest of fighters. This malevolent power that the terra itself gave off was, in large part, the reason why so many stayed away from the place, even rogues and Sky Knights.

The second reason why most chose to avoid the rebuilt empire was because of the new and advanced technology that it possessed. Cyclonis hadn't wasted any time bringing back even more technology from the Far Side. The first time she had been there, she had only scratched the surface of the true wealth of knowledge that the Far Side possessed. Once actually being a part of the world of the Far Side, she discovered a plethora of new and strange technologies that she didn't even think existed. The Far Side had discovered a way to truly combine the energy of crystals and electricity that would harmonize together in a perfect way. It was an impressive feat.

She had always planned on returning to the Atmos. In fact, it was the reason why the failure in the Far Side didn't bother her that much. Her time there was more of a time to recollect her thoughts and to learn as much as she could from the other side. Unfortunately, the Storm Hawks and others cut her time short and she and the Dark Ace were forced to flee back to the Atmos. She would have liked to have more time studying, but the timing of her return was rather perfect. The Sky Knights weren't paying attention to any type of Cyclonian activity, thanks to the rogue infestation. This allowed the reconstruction of her empire to go unhindered for over a year. She always thought it was strange that the Storm Hawks never came despite that they knew of her presence in the Atmos. It all made sense after the Dark Ace told her about the imposters. That had made her laugh, though she was slightly insulted herself. She may hate the Storm Hawks with every fiber of her being, but she still respected them. They were the ones who stopped her in the Atmos and the Far Side.

However, there was something else that bothered her about the events on Terra Atmosia. Again, she wasn't really all that bothered about the fact that the Dark Ace had revealed himself. That would only create more confusion amongst the Sky Knights and everyone else. It was the fight that the Dark Ace had with Aerrow that bothered her. While the Dark Ace simply told her that they fought and never got to finish it, the report that the lieutenant gave about the matter was a different story. She had witness the battles between the two over the years and noticed the strange switch that began to creep into their fighting. Towards the end of their time in the Far Side, she noticed a type of truce of some sort that they had unspoken agreed to. It seemed that their grudge against one another had waned to a kind of friendly rivalry. At least, that was the best way she could describe it. She distinctly remembered that the last fight that they had with the Storm Hawks in the Far Side had at one point come down to her and Piper. As they unleashed powerful crystal magic against one another, the Dark Ace and Aerrow had simply watched and were discussing something about fighting tactics, in a very civil, yet tense, manner. Despite their friendly behavior, once they began to fight, they were trying to kill each other more so than her and Piper, whose relationship had only become worse in the Far Side. It was bizarre. She didn't know when the switch happened, but it was definitely there. The report that the lieutenant gave was proof of that.

But the reason that bothered her about the fight was something that was cause for concern. In fact, it worried her quite a bit. It was the intensity and power that was behind the fight. When the lieutenant gave the report, she wasn't sure that she heard him correctly. After having him repeat it to her five more times, she had thanked him (which is something she never does) and mediated on the information for hours. She knew the Dark Ace had train hard for the last year, harder than he ever had before. He was looking forward to a fight with Aerrow, determined to beat him. Though, with the new rivalry thing going on, it was a different type of determination. Instead of the typical "putting the boy in his place" drive to kill the pain in the neck, it was an intense desire to simply beat him that motivated him, one on one. Somehow, she knew that Aerrow was doing the same thing. But even with their training, those two should not have had that big of an increase. Yes, all of them had improved, even herself, but the jump that those two made was something different; very, very different. What was really strange was the power behind their shots. The Dark Ace had destroyed entire building and half of the square. She hadn't given him any special powerful crystal; he wouldn't take it. So where did that power come from?

This was why she became even more concerned when her forces came back from Terra Rex with the Dark Ace was unconscious. The troops told her what happened and had him placed in the infirmary. There was a large gash on his side, one that most people would consider a severe injury. Chances were that he didn't even notice it. She already knew the reason of the collapse before the healers told her: simple exhaustion. She knew that something had actually drained the energy out of him, similar to what the Binding did to people. But if this was a similar to a case of Binding, than the negative effects should be affecting Aerrow like Piper until she had learned to stabilize it in the Far Side and be able to use it without another person. However, that wasn't the case. Something told her that whatever it was, it wasn't the Binding, but something much more powerful, something that didn't rely on crystals.

She continued to muse on this problem as she sat on her throne in the flag ship of her fleet. She had become used to being in the battlefield in the Far Side since it was basically just her and the Dark Ace against the Storm Hawks. Thus, she became quite a good fighter. And she was leading her army to face the army rogues known as the Devil Birds. They were a small group, but a devastating force. The Devil Birds had recently destroyed a Cyclonian convoy heading for one of their bases on the other side of the Atmos. The Birds left nothing and sent a message to Cyclonia, daring them to come out and fight. It was a bold move; stupid, but bold. Originally, she was going to send the Dark Ace once he returned from Terra Rex, but since he was recovering on her orders, much to his carnage, she'd be the one to lead her troops, as she didn't trust anyone else.

The two armies met close to an uninhabited terra. The clash was an interesting one. While the Cyclonians had the advantage of the new technology, the Devil Birds were by no means unskilled. They were able to take out large numbers of the Cyclonian forces with relative ease. Cyclonis merely shrugged at this. She knew that her troops weren't the fierce, skilled warriors that the Devil Birds had. However, numbers were a major asset in war. Also, the Devil Birds weren't expecting an appearance by the empress of Cyclonia herself. As she thought of this, she stood up, grabbed her energy staff, and left the bridge without a word. In fact, no one noticed that she left until after the fight.

She flew out into the fray with her personal skimmer. Interestingly enough, no one seemed to realize who she was. But that was understandable. She, like the Storm Hawks, was young, and three years can easily change one's appearance. The dark aura around her was still present, but she no longer looked the part of a dormant leader, one who simply orders and rarely fights, if at all. Instead of her trademark cloak and jumpsuit, her outfit consisted of a low cut sleeveless shirt of burgundy, black pants and combat boots. Also, her dark hair had grown long in the three years and she now has a habit of pulling her hair back into a low ponytail during combat. Thus, she was completely unrecognizable from the child leader that almost conquered the Atmos three years ago.

As she maneuvered around the battles, she quickly dispatched several enemy fighters (and a few of her own). Soon, she became a source of interest and many enemy fighters came to challenge her. As they came closer, she raised her staff in the air, said a command in a strange tongue, and an energy wave erupted from her staff, destroying all of the fighters skimmers in an instant.

It wasn't long before the enemy troops were replaced with a large man with rough red hair and a beard to match, both stained with blood. He held a crystal charged axe and stared at Cyclonis questioningly.

"And who would ya be, lass?" the man asked roughly.

Cyclonis smirked and cocked her head, "Didn't the crystal magic give it away?"

At that statement, the man noticeably paled, "Ya- ya can't be!"

"Can't be what?" Cyclonis egged on.

"Ya- ya her!" he exclaimed, "The lad was right! You – you're all back!"

At this, it was Cyclonis who gave a questioning look, "Who told you that I was back?"

"Hawkeye Drake, leader of the Predators. He called all the Elites to warn them that you and the Storm Hawks were back."

"Did he now?" Cyclonis said thoughtfully, ignoring the chaos around her.

Almost scared, the man continued, "He said he wanted to have a go against the Dark Ace and Aerrow."

That got Cyclonis' attention. Though he was her right hand man, she conceded to the fact in the Far Side that Dark Ace was still his own person. In reality, they were more like partners in running Cyclonia. She even felt, despite herself, a type of sibling bond between them, as if he was her older brother. Therefore, her control over him was minimal at best. Also, due to the recent events, his power had obviously increased. So, if someone wanted a fight with him, they were pretty close to insane in her book. Then to add Aerrow into the mix was just a death wish. Aerrow had become much more aggressive and dangerous (the recent fight were proof of that) and fighting him was just as stupid as fighting the Dark Ace.

She chuckled slightly, "I suppose this Hawkeye character has a death wish."

Rex looked at her sternly, "I wouldn't underestimate Hawkeye if I were you. From what I know of him, he only enters the fight when he's bored or interested in something. He's cruel and brutal. In my knowledge, no one has gone up against him and lived to tell the tale. Also, he's young, probably not much older than Aerrow. He's a demon."

Cyclonis thought for a moment, "Perhaps He's cruel and brutal. In my knowledge, no one has gone up against him and lived to tell the tale. Also, he's young, probably not much older than Aerrow. He's a demon."

Cyclonis thought for a moment, "Perhaps you would like to tell me more about this Hawkeye person?"

Rex snorted, "Like I'd help someone like you!"

Cyclonis gave a dark smile and turned her staff towards the battle. She chanted a short spell and an enormous wave of energy blasted through the battlefield, destroying every single skimmer, foe and friend alike. Rex's face looked sicken at the sight.

Cyclonis turned back to him, "I rather think you will."

**Yeah… probably not my best chapter, but I hope that you got a feel for how Cyclonis now works. Also, I hope you are getting the point that there are a lot of weird things happening. And when a lot of weird things happen, things tend to get a little crazy. **

**Hope you enjoyed! Please review and/or give any suggestions!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own the Storm Hawks**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Big Three

Somewhere in the northeastern quadrant of the Atmos, there was a stretch of sky that was so clear and pristine that if one were to look out at it, they would feel an enormous sense of peace. The sun shone brightly and the breeze was tender to the touch. However tranquil the sky was, it was deceptive to the events underneath it. Regardless of the peaceful atmosphere that the sky desperately tried to instill, the warriors of the raging battle continued on.

The battle being waged was not a simple fight by any means. In fact, many passerbyers took one look at the battle and hightailed it out of the area, counting rogues and other shady characters. The reason for the high intense battle was simple: it was yet again, a battle between the Cyclonian army and the Storm Hawks. Only difference in this fight was that the Cyclonians true aim was to wipe out the troublesome squadron. This meant that almost the entire Talon army had come to take down the five warriors and their pet. Nevertheless, the Storm Hawks fought back with full force.

-00000-

As the fight continued to be a stalemate, a large carrier lazily made its way towards the fierce battle. Painted on its sides was a large, menacing blood red bird: the symbol of the Predators. In the bridge, Drake watched the approaching battle with an excitement that he couldn't contain. Though seemingly impossible, Drake's gaze was lock on a pair of blue lights engaging with a red one: the Dark Ace and Aerrow. True to his epithet, Drake could easily make out his prey despite the fact that they were still a good distance away from the battle and that the battle itself was a chaotic mess that even those inside the battle probably could see what was going on.

One of Drake's men came up to his leader, kneeled, and handed the young leader a large blade with two and a half handed hilt. Drake took it, stood up, and casually made his way to the hangar bay. He mounted his ride and was about to take off when a older man with green hair asked, "Is it really okay for you to be going out their by yourself?"

Drake smirked, "The only two I need to worry about are the Dark Ace and Aerrow. The others are just small fry. Besides," A dark smile grew on his face, "What good would it do me if I were to bring back up?" Before the man could respond, Drake took off, headed towards the battle.

"Be careful, Drake," the man murmured.

-00000-

The battle was chaotic horde of Cyclonian troops trying to take down a few blue skimmers that took down almost any solider that came their way. Finn was picking off troops like a carnival game, Junko smashed his way through the enemy force with ease, and Piper was easily defeating her opponents with her crystals. The only one having any sort of difficulty was Aerrow.

The start of the battle was weird to say the least, but not all that unexpected. The Storm Hawks knew it was only a matter of time before Cyclonis would take action against them and send her army to destroy them. What was so weird was the fact the Dark Ace jump aboard Aerrow's skimmer instead of the other way around. Taken aback slightly by the change-up, Aerrow engaged the Dark Ace immediately, telling Radaar to hitch a ride on Piper's skimmer and help her out.

The two warriors exchanged blows so fierce and so quick; it was hard to say that it was even humanly possible to do so. The two stopped for a moment when the Dark Ace noticed the raw scar on Aerrow's shoulder.

"I see that I left my mark on you," he commented.

Aerrow shrugged it off, "Whatever."

However, before the two could reengage in battle, a bright green blade pierced the side of Aerrow's skimmer. As a chain pulled out the blade, the skimmer fell apart with Aerrow and the Dark Ace falling down as well. The Dark Ace grabbed hold of one of his soldiers' rides and promptly kicked the man off the skimmer. Aerrow pressed a button on his wristband and in seconds his air board rushed out of the Condor and caught him. _I'm going to have to thank Stork for syncing up my board with a remote control._ Balancing himself, Aerrow stood up on his board and turned to face the direction where the green blade had come from.

As he scanned the area, the blade was flying towards him with incredible speed. He blocked it and saw that the chain that controlled it swung up and made for the Dark Ace. Like Aerrow, he blocked it and the blade was pulled back once again.

"What in the world?" Aerrow asked, flying after the blade with the Dark Ace in tow.

The two came out of the combative mess to find themselves face with a single skimmer carrying a young man with sapphire hair and a careless expression; the green blade resting on his shoulder.

"About time you two got over here. I thought I was going to have go in there myself to fight you," he said casually.

"Who the hell are you?" The Dark Ace asked completely thrown off by the newcomer.

"Me?" the man cocked his head innocently, "I'm just a guy who's trying find someone to have a decent fight with."

"And I assume you are wanting to fight with us," the Dark Ace stated.

The amber eyes of the strange man glanced over the two of them before smiling, "Precisely."

Aerrow only shrugged, "Eh, might as well." The Dark Ace nodded in agreement.

The two veteran warriors came down on the newcomer with incredible speed. However, despite their efforts, the man was able to keep up with the two. Even though he wielded a large sword (bigger than the Dark Ace's), he was able to maneuver with great speed and agility. He forced Aerrow back and with a press of a button, the blade detached itself from half of the hilt. The man then swung out towards Aerrow, sending the blade flying towards him.

"What the hell?" Aerrow shouted as he deflected the blade away from him.

The man grabbed the chain that connected the blade and the hilt and pulled back the blade and caught in his hand.

"What kind of crazy weapon is that?" Aerrow and the Dark Ace asked in unison.

A proud smirk spread across the man's face, "You like it? It's my own design. It allows me to attack from a further range." He begun to spin the chain around until the blade was spinning so fast until it was nothing but a spinning blur of green. He then threw it again at Aerrow who just barely managed to dodge it.

"Interesting," said the Dark Ace, coming in on the fighter, "But what happens when that blade isn't with you?" The Dark Ace swung at the man, but had his blow bloke by a green knife that was part of the second half of the hilt. The shock on the Dark Ace's face amused the man as he smiled, "I use this, then."

"What the-?" the two asked.

"As you can see, this weapon is perfect to use offense and defense at the same time."

The Dark Ace gave the man a queer look, "Who are you?"

The man looked at them in an almost apologetic way, "Sorry, I guess I really should introduce myself since I know all about you, but you don't know anything about me."

"The name's Drake. They called me 'Hawkeye' Drake. I'm the leader of the Predators."

The Dark Ace regarded Drake for a moment, "I've heard rumors about you. They say you're the next demon of the sky after me. That you've never spare the life of an opponent you've face."

Drake merely shrugged, "I'm a rogue. I can't start making exceptions. Once word leaks out that a rogue has gone soft, people begin to disobey you and then it's nothing but work, work, work all the time.[1]" The Dark Ace shrugged, he couldn't fight that logic.

Aerrow was pondering something else, "Predators? Where have I heard that name before?"

"I believe you were the one who kicked my commander, Gunner's, ass back on Atmosia," Drake informed him, amused.

"Oh, yeah! That's the guy who wouldn't leave me alone," Aerrow said, remembering.

Drake rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, he has severe personal issues when it coming to being ignored. That and his drinking habits."

"I could tell," Aerrow commented, laughing.

"So, why are you here again?" The Dark Ace asked.

Drake looked at him, "I told you, to fight you."

"Both of us?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" the two asked again in unison.

"Isn't it obvious? I wish to be the best and you two are the best."

Aerrow and the Dark Ace looked at one another, shrugging; they couldn't deny it.

"So, now what?" Aerrow asked, "We have a three-way fight?" He was answered by a red bolt of energy charging at him. Aerrow spun his board all the way around, holding his hat down, in order to dodge the attack.

"Watch it!"

"What?" The Dark Ace laughed, "It was your idea." Before he could laugh any longer, Drake's blade almost took his head off.

"Fine by me," Drake said, positively grinning in anticipation.

-00000-

Finn watched the three way fight with a bewildered expression. They had already managed to defeat the Cyclonian troops and were waiting for Aerrow to finish up. After they had beaten all the troops, they had looked around for their leader only to find him and the Dark Ace fighting some other guy. After a while, the three stopped and appeared to have a normal conversation. Then moments later, they started fighting again with more intensity than before.

Finn rubbed his temples. He was aware of Aerrow's rivalry with the Dark Ace and the strange shift that had happened. Surprisingly enough, he was the first one to see it. He couldn't exactly say what had change, maybe their respect for one another or something, but something had change to point where despite being bitter rivals, they could randomly have a civil conversation with each other like old friends. And now it seems another one was thrown into the mix.

Finn and the others watched the fight and were surprised by the incredible speed and strength of the newcomer. Firstly, the fact that he was taking on both Aerrow and the Dark Ace made them question the guy's sanity. Secondly, the fact that he was able to keep up with the two of them was a shock. Those two were in a whole different league than the rest of the Atmos, but it now looked like one more was added to that league.

Abruptly, the fight stopped. There was another small conversation and the three parted ways like friends saying goodbye. The Dark Ace flew off towards Cyclonia and the new guy took off towards a carrier that had a familiar insignia on it. Aerrow came to the Condor and met them with a cheerful face, "Good work, you guys. You defeated them."

"Uh, Aerrow," Piper warily started, "Who was that guy you and the Dark Ace were fighting?"

"Oh, him? That's Drake, leader of the Predators," Aerrow answered casually.

"As in Hawkeye Drake?" Stork spouted suddenly.

Aerrow cocked his head, "You know him?"

The darkened expression that came over Stork's was similar to the one he wore when he was giving very bad news.

"I've heard rumors back at the hangar port. They say he's a demon, just as brutal if not more so than the Dark Ace."

Junko looked over at Aerrow, "And you fought both of them?"

"What?" Aerrow asked, "It's not like they were working together or anything."

"It was a three way fight, wasn't it?" Finn said, answering the confused faces on the others.

"Yeah. Apparently, he wanted to fight both of us. I got to give credit to his nickname. He was able to shoot down the two of us_ outside_ the battle. How he was even able to see through that chaos, let alone track us down, is beyond me."

"So why stop the fight?" Finn asked.

Aerrow shrugged, "We didn't feel like fighting anymore. The Dark Ace's troops were defeated, and Drake's retainer wanted him back on the ship."

Aerrow then stretched and yawned, "Well, I'm beat. I think I'm going to turn in early for today." And with that he left the room.

The rest just stared after their leader until Piper spoke, "I don't think Aerrow realizes the fact that he just made another powerful enemy."

"Rival," Finn corrected.

"Come again?"

"He's just another rival for Aerrow," Finn said, starting to work on his crossbow, "Aerrow can handle it."

"Since when are you the level headed one?" Piper asked.

"Since Aerrow apparently lost his sanity," Finn commented, making everyone laugh, all knowing the truth behind his words.

**[1] This phrase was taken from Wesley of the Princess Bride.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Storm Hawks.**


	15. Chapter 15

**So, I didn't want to get into the next part of the main plot just yet so I have one or two filler chapters just to get a break from the insanity that is happening. Anyway, I wanted to look into Starling as all this stuff was going on so here's that chapter.**

**Oh, and sorry for not having any discussion or anything last chapter. I was lazy. **

Chapter 15: Headaches

Starling rubbed the bridge of her nose as she drummed her fingers on the bar of the Harbor Heights Sky Port, one of the few sky ports that hadn't been overrun by rogues. Resting at the now popular rest stop, she was frustrated to say the least. She had once again been forced to save yet another clumsy group of children who were trying to play Sky Knight.

Honestly, she had been reduced from a great Sky Knight to babysitter these last few years. After the "Storm Hawks" showed up so did the rogues and, more annoyingly, new "squadrons" who didn't have a clue as to what being a Sky Knight or a squadron meant. These kids probably envisioned a glorious picture of fame and glory while beating "bad guys" like a cakewalk. They did not understand the sacrifice and effort that comes with the responsibility of being a Sky Knight Squadron. So when these kids try to go up against vicious rogues, the end wasn't very pretty.

She took a sip of her wine as she contemplated the situation. She was by no means a drinker, but the situation of the rogues and other unofficial squadrons were really starting to get out of hand. The rogues were acting up more and the kid squadrons were constantly getting themselves into trouble. What was worse was that rumors of Cyclonia's return to the field. Now was the worst possible time for them to come back into the picture, with all the chaos that was going on.

Starling sighed angrily. If those blasted imposters hadn't shown up, this wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem. It was because of them that these children were getting themselves into trouble. When the real Storm Hawks had been around, they encouraged kids to become Sky Knights but not like this. These "Storm Hawks" were actually telling people to go ahead and start their own squadron without the Sky Council's approval. Such the Storm Hawks were unofficial, but had followed the proper guidelines and only were unofficial because the council members were so stubborn and blind that they refused to let them become official. Even after being unofficial, they were still recognized as a legitimate squadron. They followed the terms of being a squadron, granted rather loosely, but clearly understood the risks and consequences of their actions.

Starling took another sip of her wine, a little bit more than she was use to. The "Storm Hawks" were also getting on her last nerve. They refused to leave her alone, continually pestering her to help them and recognize them as the real Storm Hawks. She denied them every time. They were far more annoying than any other. First, the ringleader "Finn" could be summed up as a blatant, manipulative twit. His egotistic manner was far worse than the real Finn could even been. He was also quite the coward; he would use any one of his "teammates" as a human shield if he had to. At least Finn would (eventually) admit his flaws.

Then there was "Aerrow". The very idea of someone trying to pose as the greatest Sky Knight she's ever met was an insult. The boy could act high and mighty in front of crowds, but as soon as a fight broke out, he'd be the first to hightail it out of there. To think that this boy was sullying everything that her friend had no doubt trained and strived for years for was repulsive. Aerrow hadn't worked so hard for so long just to have his work be reduced to a child playing pretend.

The others were just as bad. "Piper" was a snobbish girl who loved to point out her "genius talents", not the clever and caring girl she had known. "Junko" was nothing more than a blockhead fool, good for nothing but smashing things, instead of the kind, tender Wallop that she had come to love. And to think that they would pass off Stork as dead. The Merb may be pessimistic, but he was an irreplaceable member of their team. Even Radaar was reduced to a mere pet.

She sighed again. She missed the Storm Hawks so much, not just because of the troubles the Atmos was facing. She respected them. Sure, they were a bunch of crazy kids, but that was made them so special. They were insane enough to do the impossible. They infiltrated Cyclonia through the Wastelands. They broke out an entire Cyclonian prison. They took on the most powerful empire in the Atmos head on. They were crazy, but she loved them for it. They brought a new vigor to the slowly declining standards of the Sky Knight Order.

She looked sadly into her glass. While she tried not to get too close to anyone, she couldn't help but to grow fond of those kids. It wasn't that they were naïve to the state of the Atmos and the dangers that it carried; they simply didn't let it bother them. They were willing to fight for the Atmos, or go down trying. It was as simple as that. No fame, no glory, nothing to deter them from their mission. They did what they were supposed to do, their way. That's why even now, despite the sadness that lingered after the fate of her team, she regretted not taking their offer to join them. They cared for her. They helped her. She wanted nothing more to do the same.

She thought about her last encounter with the fake Storm Hawks. Her headache growing more painful as she did.

-00000-

She was flying close to Terra Neon when she had received a distress call coming from the "Storm Hawks". She groaned mentally as she turned on her communicator. How in the blazes they managed to get her personal communicator line was beyond her. She had tried several times to change the number and line, but somehow they kept finding it.

"What is it this time?" she asked, regretting it as she did.

"Good, Starling, you picked up!" the fake Piper shouted, "Listen, we need you to come towards Terra Ray immediately! We have a bit of a situation!"

"And why would the Storm Hawks need my assistance?" she asked, thick with sarcasm.

"Look, we don't have time for your backtalk!" Piper shouted, a twinge of panic laced in her words, "The entire terra is being overrun by rogues. We need your help! Now!"

Starling sighed, choosing to ignore the comment, "Fine, I'll be there." It not like she could just let them be killed. She was a Sky Knight after all.

Approaching Terra Ray, Starling rolled here eyes at the scene. "Overrun by rogues" was quite an exaggeration. In truth, it appeared to be a mere handful of rogues terrorizing the terra below. She leaned down and entered the battle, kicking a man off his skimmer before meeting up with the "Storm Hawks".

"Overrun by rogues?" she stated back to the team.

Finn scowled, "Look, these aren't normal rogues. They are ridiculously strong."

Starling eyed the rogues. None of them appeared to be any sort of challenge, but she did notice the insignia on their rides: the Predators. She glared at the symbol. If there was any rogue that she considered a major threat, it was they. They were, if possible, as bad as Cyclonia was. They were strong, with plenty of numbers. Also, their leader, "Hawkeye" Drake, was someone that she was very wary of. Though she had yet to face him, she knew he was a very dangerous man. He, himself, had taken out the entire Third Degree Burners within minutes. They said that none of them stood a chance. And worse, he killed them merely out of boredom. Within the span of a couple of years, the man had earned himself a reputation almost equal to that of the Dark Ace's, which took over a decade.

Anger building up in her of that fact, Starling said, "Leave them to me." She then charge the group, leaving the "Storm Hawks" confused.

It took less than five minutes. She defeated all of them and already called for prison transport. She made to leave when "Aerrow" called out, "Thanks, Starling!"

"I didn't do it for you," she said, curtly. When their faces were question marks, she continued, "I did it for Blister and the others."

"What? For a bunch of losers?" Finn sneered.

Starling stopped and gave a look towards them that froze their blood. "Never. Say. That. Again," she hissed darkly, "You have no right to say such a thing. And furthermore, they were more than you could ever dream of."

With that, she left the team wallowing in fear of her.

-00000-

Starling sighed at the memory. She knew she shouldn't have let her anger get the better of her, but those ingrates had crossed the line with that comment. If it had been the real ones, they probably charge straight into Terra Drago and take down the entire army.

The bartender came over to refill her glass, which she just noticed that it was empty.

"You look like you could use another one, Starling," he joked.

"I'm fine," she said rather too coolly.

The bartender shrugged and refilled her glass anyway. As he did, he said, "It seems that you were right, Starling."

"About what?" she asked, not making a move to stop him from refilling her glass.

"About them Storm Hawks," he said, "There's stories going around that the real ones have come back from the Far Side."

This caught Starling's attention, "What?"

"Yeah. They say that the ones we've been use to these last few years were a bunch of posers. And that the real ones are already causing a commotion with them still fighting that Cyclonis girly."

"Cyclonis is back!" Starling said, aghast.

"That's what they're saying. Makes sense. There's been numerous of sightings of Cyclonian activity lately. But the worst rumor that's been going around is that the Dark Ace is back as well."

"He's back!"

"From what I've heard, yeah. The stories that I've heard also suggest that they're not just rumors. Also, they say that him and Aerrow still have one hell of a grudge against one another. They nearly took out an entire square in Atmosia."

"What?"

"Apparently, those two got into a fight in Terra Atmosia. According to a friend of mine, the Dark Ace looks about the same, but the Aerrow kid sure as hell didn't. From what he said, no one would have known that that was Aerrow if the Dark Ace hadn't recognized him. Says he looks a hell a lot older."

Starling tried to grasp the new information, not daring to believe it. Suddenly, a voice behind her started, "You're right about that!"

Starling turned to see a young woman glancing over at them. The bartender asked, "So, it's true?"

"Well," she began, "I can't say for Atmosia, but judging from what I saw on Terra Rex, I wouldn't doubt it."

"Terra Rex?" Starling asked.

"Uh huh," the woman nodded, "I was there to watch the Storm Hawks challenge the Guardians. I was a huge fan of the Storm Hawks, but I didn't realize that they were fakes."

"What happened?"

The woman told them what happened in great detail, starting with beginning of the challenge, "… then suddenly there was these loud noises coming from the sky. The Guardians were about to got up and check it out when the cloud cleared a little and were saw this massive battle in the sky. There was a large Cyclonian ship and the Condor as well. We had no idea what was going. They fight was the most intense battle I've ever since in my life. Then there was this big blast and two figures were falling from the sky. One had a pair of wings, but the only somehow use the energy from his blades and flew down into the stadium. The other came down and they fought. The way they fought was just ridiculous, I mean, no one could move that fast. Their fight was interrupted when the Cyclonian ship starting to fall towards the terra, but someone managed to push it away with some type of energy. They then just opt not to fight and the Dark Ace left with the rest of the Cyclonians. The Storm Hawks came down and talked with their leader before he collapsed from exhaustion. But the Dark Ace did say he was Aerrow."

Everyone in the bar, who were all listening to the story with great interest, were absorbing the story that she just told. If anything, that sounded just like the Storm Hawks, before their "return". Starling's mind was reeling. They were back! They were really back! Of course, Aerrow used some crazy stunt to save himself. That was just like him. But she was worried by what she said at the end about Aerrow collapsing. That wasn't normal. Aerrow could fight for days if he had to. But, the woman did say that the fight was pretty intense. Maybe the fight really did wear him out.

Starling was brought back to earth when the woman said, "But that Aerrow is one good-looking guy."

"Excuse me?" Starling said without thinking.

"Aerrow is probably the hottest guy I've ever seen. I'm mean he was pretty cute three years ago, but man, did he grow up to be one fine man. He's totally ripped, shirtless, and has that cocky smile," the woman sighed dreamily, "He's definitely at the top of my hit list, if you know what I'm saying."

"Right," Starling trailed off, not knowing how exactly to respond to that. It's not like she ever thought that way about Aerrow before. She liked him, but in a warrior-to-warrior way. Sure, she thought he was cute, but she never meant anything by it. But why did the woman's fawning irritate her so much. It was as if she was jealous or something. She shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking of stuff like that. The fact remained that the Cyclonians were back along with the real Storm Hawks. She couldn't help but smile at that fact. Way to bring their troubles back with them. They were persistent. She wondered just how much they changed in the last three years.

She couldn't wait to see them again.

**So, one filler chap down, probably one more to go before I get back into the action. **

**Disclaimer- I don't own the Storm Hawks.**


End file.
